Who Do You Think You Are?
by sebsbadkitty
Summary: Okay this is after Rose and Lissa graduate. Dimitri had left Rose right after graduation and not in a nice way. It's been three years and neither Rose nor Dimitri has seen each other... until now.
1. Not What I Wanted Chapter 1 revised

**Okay so it has been brought to my attention that I made a mistake with Lissa's last name. I am very sorry for that so I fixed it. So here's chapter one with Lissa Dragomir instead of Lissa Dashkov, and promise I will get chapter 2 up soon as possible.**

**

* * *

**

Everything had been going great. It really had been. I was actually happy. Everything comes to an end though. That's where I was now. My life had crashed one day and I've never recovered. I wasn't the same Rose Hathaway everyone had once known and loved. But then, love wasn't even a question for me. In fact, I had hated the very thought for three years. See, I was in love once. He was my world until he stole my heart only to shatter my soul. Dimitri Belikov still had my heart, but he had long since refused to keep it. He just didn't seem to understand I couldn't take it back. I didn't want it back. Does that mean I still loved the man who destroyed me? Not even a little bit. I just came to the conclusion that he branded me for life and I had to trudge through the grime he left.

As things stand now, I have been doing a lot better about that than I had thought I ever could back then. Of course, that was because I hadn't seen him since that horrible day. I'm not go into detail about that day. It won't change anything, but I will explain. See Dimitri told me that he didn't love me. In fact, he took it further and told me he had been lying. He had never loved me. He was just playing with me. Can you believe that? Well I didn't believe it at first. See, that hadn't been the first time he claimed he didn't love me. What made me believe him was when I caught him with a woman we both knew very well. I don't plan on dropping the woman's name. The very thought of her sends my blood boiling, but yes, she was the factor - especially when you put into light that the bitch wanted him almost as much as I did. After that moment, my life ended.

It took me forever to get where I was today. I mean I loved him and losing him like that had destroyed me. I was an empty shell for months. As the days dragged on, the pain never faded. I merely learned to live with it. Well, if you can call it living. Really, I wouldn't call it that. I talk to my friends. I socialize. I mingle. I put on a happy face for my friends and family. That wasn't my reality though. I was the only one who seemed to realize that I was pretending. It was a game only I knew the rules to. My mask was always in place, but left alone to long and my charade would fall. Those were my weakest moments. Those moments I would fall back to that girl who had been lovesick for the Russian God. I hated those moments. I hated that Rose. More importantly, I hated him for turning me into that. There was one other difference between who I was back then and who I was now. My ability to forgive and forget had become practically non-existent and I was a lot more trigger-happy and cynical.

Well on less dreary memos, I still had my friends. Lissa Dragomir, my best friend, was always there with me, for me. I always found that ironic seeing how I am her guardian now and as her guardian she is supposed to come first no matter the situation. That was the thought in my head as I shoved my stake into my belt and headed down to the dining room for breakfast. It was actually a real smile for now too. I hadn't thought of Dimitri much for a week and my dreams of him had been non-existent. That meant I have actually slept a few full nights. It happened occassionally, but those breaks were practically non-existent. So, yes I certainly had to milk up the reprieve for all it was worth. So I entered the dining room with a smile so bright that I was sure that it would carry the same effect for Lissa - and her fiance Christian Ozera - the same way the sun might.

My theory didn't get the chance to play out, because the moment I walked into the room, I saw the one thing that could wipe that cheerful smile right off my face. _He _was there; Dimitri was just standing there and talking to Lissa and Christian. I couldn't really tell if they were as surprised by his presence as I was, but they did seem happy to see him. I doubted the two traitors had been clueless, and I accusatory thoughts appeared to be accurate when all three of them finally noticed me standing there. Christian wore that stupid, cocky grin of his. Dimitri didn't show any real reaction. I would call it a poker face but that term didn't do it justice. He was wearing his guardian mask. Then, there was Lissa. Not only was her expression guilty, but her emotions just screamed that she had known. And me? I just stared at the group like the idiot I was. Really, what would you expect. I hadn't seen Dimitri in three years. I wasn't merely stunned; I was that lovesick teen who had just gotten her heart crushed.

"Hello, Rose," Dimitri said, breaking the awkward silence as he held my gaze.

I didn't bother replying. At the moment, I knew that I was just as blank-faced as he was. I just wasn't sure how strong my hold was. I was afraid that if I spoke that all the pain and horrid emotions for him would be obvious. So, instead, I hurried to the table and sat down. It was a rectangle and huge. Seating capacity was maybe thirty people. That was the only reason I didn't bother leaving. I mean what was the likeliness of Dimitri and I sitting together. Sadly, he must have realized what I was doing because he took the chair on my left.

"Are you going to ignore me during my entire stay here?" he asked so quietly that I was sure only I had heard him.

"What are you doing here?" I said, staring around the room and refusing to look at him.

The room was beautiful. It's sapphire blue, silver, and white color theme was relaxing and vibrant. It managed to turn my sour moods into something brighter. _Like Dimitri._ Oh no, I wasn't going to go there. Not now. Not ever. I was berrating myself when Dimitri spoke, answering my question.

"Lissa and Christian's wedding is coming up," he said. "Tasha was invited. _I _was invited."

I flinched despite all my will power trying not to. I could have sworn something flickered in his eyes, but I brushed it off as my imagination. I couldn't believe I had gone three without hearing or saying _that _name. In my opinion, Tash Ozera had ruined everything. Lissa and Christian were considerate. They never mentioned his aunt by name around me.

"Yes, but that isn't for another two months," I argued. "Why are you here now?"

"Rose, it's your birthday in a few days," Lissa suddenly piped in as if that explained everything. "I invited everyone to come, and Tasha and Dimitri refused not too."

That did it. I was no longer stunned stupid. I was back to being the volatile homocidal Rosemarie Hathaway that everyone either loved or I hated. I got to my feet just as the door to the dining room opened. Tasha walked in with a bright, sickeningly cheery smile on her face. She saw me and began rambling a long-winded string of words that I didn't hear. Instead, I turned to Lissa spoke directly to her.

"I don't want them here," I sneered menacingly before I left the room without looking at anyone.

I was fuming, absolutely fuming, and I wanted to get out of there before I ended up doing something stupid. It wasn't a question of if I would do something stupid. There was no if about it. The question was when. I was half way down the hall toward my room when someone grabbed me by the shoulder. I turned around just lost it. I punched and kicked and punched some more. Some of my attacks landed; others my oponent blocked. I was angry and so out of it that I didn't even register who I was fighting. I was kicking my victim's ass up until he got me face down on the floor.

"Stop it," he said in my ear.

My eyes went wide as I recognized his voice. Oh god, it can't be him. I wasn't ready to face him. I didn't want to face him.

* * *

**Okay I hope you guys liked this. I originally planned to have it as a one-shot but changed my mind last minute. Please review. **

**Also I do NOT own Vampire Academy or any of these characters in this chapter. It all belongs to Richelle Mead. I just own the plot line. Muse goes to the song _Jar of Hearts_ by Christina Perri.**


	2. Traitors

**Disclaimer: yes yes. Long and old, I know. Still, I must remind you all that I don't own anything but my plot. The characters are all owned by the amazing Richelle Mead.**

**Also, I'd like to thank everyone for the reviews. So thanks and enjoy the new chapter.**

**

* * *

**

I was dreaming. No, even better, I was having an awful nightmare and would wake up soon. I was going to wake up and go back down to the dining room just to see Lissa and Christian sitting at that huge table. So I stopped my trying to fight for the moment only because I really believed that I was going to wake up. I had to because I never wanted to see Dimitri again. Still, the rough carpet irritated my cheek as the weight continued to press down on me, pinning me there. I kept my eyes shut, refusing to risk opening them to find my worst fears confirmed.

"Open your eyes, Rose," _he _said.

A groan of despair and irritation escaped my lips as my eyes opened. The despair because a small part of me didn't want the dream to end. This part of me was normally dead except at night, dearing my dreams. The irritation was a lot stronger and was there because I didn't want to look at him. I wanted Dimitri and Tasha to leave. They needed to get gone and get gone fast. Stil, my eyes seemed to want to betray me, and of course soon as I opened my eyes, Dimitri was still there. I wasn't in bed. This wasn't a nightmare. I was still on the hall floor with Dimitri pinning me down. Well that was all it took for me to lose it once more. I started thrashing around.

"Get the hell off me, Belikov," I hissed, putting as much hatred as I possibly could into the words.

"I will when I am sure you're done punching me," he replied drily.

I really wasn't aware of much. I couldn't tell what was going on. All I knew was I wanted up, and Dimitri wasn't giving me what I wanted. That really didn't help matters at all. It only pissed me off more. I continued to wriggle and thrash like a loon, too angry to be patient enough to pause so I could actually form a plan to get me free without all the theatrics. Then again, if I did things the calm and logical way, I wouldn't be me. Would I? Too my surprise, Dimitri refused to let up. Most people would've been running for the hills by now. I had actually forgotten just how stubborn Dimitri could be. I couldn't really say why I forgot, but then again, I had made it my life's mission to wipe everything about him out of mind. . . . Out of my heart. Sadly, of course, since my attempts to get away from him were failing, my energy went with it. I was starting to get tired. I could feel it deep in my bones. Letting out a string of colorful words, I gave in and stopped trying to get out of his hold.

"Are you going to behave now if I let you up?" Dimitri asked the moment I stilled.

"Fine, whatever, just get off," I snapped angrily.

"That's the best you're gonna get, Dimitri," came a new voice - Christian. "Hell, you'll be lucky if she doesn't go back to swinging at you even if she looks as if she's Ms. Cheery-Cheer Sunshine."

"I know her temper, Christian," Dimitri said tiredly as got off me. "I trained her for months, remember?"

I got to my feet and took stock of my surroundings for the first real time. Yes, I should've already done that. I know if I had been fighting a strigoi I would undoubtedly be dead by now. As it was, Christian wasn't the only newcomer. Lissa was standing next to him, her emotions running rampant and stared at me. I didn't allow my eyes to linger and continued on with my survey. Tasha was there, and to my complete delight, was eyeing me as if I had suddenly turned into a very hungry Loch Ness monster. I would've laughed if I hadn't noticed that the group was accompanied by a couple guardians that seemed content to point tasers at me. As I said before, I had become quite the volatile, homocidal mess. The only reason I was still Lissa's guardian was because of the bonds - the mental bond and the bond all best friends seemed to have. I heard a laugh escape Christian and instantly shot a menacing glare at him. I didn't move though. A part of me wanted to know what part of this living nightmare he seemed to find funny.

"No, you _knew _her temper," he told Dimitri. "You know nothing of it nowadays."

"What do you mean?" Dimitri asked just as growled at Christian threateningly. They both ignored me of course.

"She's not the same Rose you knew," Christian seemed to consider that for a moment before continuing. "Actually she's still that Rose in a constant bad mood times a billion. She has taken to ex-"

"YO, COLONEL FIRE-TARD, I'M STANDING RIGHT HERE!" I snapped, my patience dying fast. "QUIT ACTING LIKE I'M NOT!"

"So you want to tell him about your homocidal tendencies or should I just finish what I started?" Christian asked, unperturbed by my temper.

I rolled my eyes and ignored the idiot. Really, as time went on, I was just that more clueless about what Liss actually saw in him. I narrowed my eyes at him and advanced a step. Any normal person would've run, but he just stood there smirking that cocky grin at me. Lissa, on the other hand was staring at me nervously. I didn't know how Dimitri was reacting to this. I refused to look at him, but I could practically feel his eyes burning holes in my skull.

"No point," I said. "I'm going back to my room and Dimitri and Tasha are going to be gone when I come back out. They don't need to worry about my _homocidal tendencies_ when they aren't going to be staying here." Lissa opened her mouth but I cut her off before she could say anything. "Do NOT say a damn thing. You can all rot. I'm going to my room and no one is going to bother me unless a group of strigoi attack. Other than that I don't want to see any of you."

With that said, I left them all standing there. Once in my room, I locked my door and plopped down on my bed. Did I think that Dimitri and the bitch were actually going to go? No, not if Lissa had a say in anything. The traitor was obviously up to something. Pursing my lips, I got off my bed and moved to my computer. I might as well check my email and occupy my time. It wasn't like I was going to be socializing with anyone at the moment. They were all a bunch of backstabbing traitors.


	3. I Spy

_Rose,_

_I'm writing to say that I might not make it to your birthday party. I figured I would wish you a Happy Birthday now just in case. Behave, Rose! For once in your life don't do something stupid. I know you don't know how but at least try to restrain yourself. Vasilisa told me you've been getting downright scary with those temper tantrums of yours. You keep this up and you're going to end up hurting someone, or worse, yourself. _

_Janine Hathaway_

That was the last email sent from my mother. She hadn't changed much. She still treated me like some stupid five-year-old. It was quite it used to be. I stopped caring a while ago. I knew I was a psychopath. I couldn't help it. I hadn't asked to be turned into this. I just couldn't pretend I was okay, all the time. In reality, I was very much - well - only half alive. I had stopped caring about a lot of things. There didn't seem to be a point.

_Mom,_

_Thanks for the benefit of the doubt, but I think it's too late. Anyway thanks for the early Happy Birthday. I hope you can make it to the party._

_Rose_

Personally, I didn't give a damn what she said to me or how I behaved. It wasn't her life. It was mine, and if I wanted to be angry and psychotic, I would. I sent my email reply and then turned off my computer. I pulled my stake out of my holster and set it on my nightstand before I sat down on the floor at the foot of my bed. I didn't know how much time passed with me just sitting there and staring at nothing. After a while, a series of raps broke the semi-comfortable silence. I let my eyes stray to my door, but I refused to get up to answer it or say a damn thing. I knew who was at the door anyway. Lissa's emotions were strong. She was the second-to-last person I wanted to see right now. My anger towards her was only surpassed by my hatred towards Dimitri at the moment. Still, I would be much happier if they both would just drop off the face of the Earth.

_No, you wouldn't,_ my stupid inner voice argued. Okay so I would hate it if anything happened to Lissa deep down. That didn't mean I was willing to face her any time soon. I mean, how could she hurt me like this? I had been doing really good in my humble opinion, but I knew if I saw Dimitri and Tasha together yet again, I would be right back to square one.

"Rose, open your door," Lissa's voice rang through oak doors. "Let me explain please."

I shook my head at the door even though I knew it was pointless. It made me feel better though. Of course I still had the urge to start throwing things at the door. I was managing restraint though. That - in and of itself - was a miracle. A miracle that didn't last long at all, might I add. No, Lissa apparently had brought company. That company spoke up as if everything was right and glorious in the world.

"You have every right to be mad at me," Dimitri said. "Just please, don't take it out on your best friend."

I grabbed the lamp on my nightstand, ripped it out of the electrical outlet on the wall, and threw it at the door. I watched with a disturbing fascination as it shattered all over the door and floor. I heard Lissa shriek in surprise and fear. I heard Dimitri curse in Russian. I still know what he was saying, but I didn't particularly give a damn. I just wanted them gone. Why couldn't they just leave me alone? That was all I wanted right now.

"Please, let her explain," he was saying. "Let her in, and I will leave you alone, Roza."

I instantly froze, stunned to hear him call me by his old nickname for me. I was even more stunned to recognize the caring tone to his voice. For a split second my eyes went wide and my anger and hatred evaporated. Then I remembered what he did to me and my anger and hatred came back with a vengeance. Fuming once more, I got to my feet and trudged to the door - thankful that I hadn't taken off my shoes yet. I wasn't relishing the thought of cutting my foot open. I unlocked my door, took a deep breath and opened it to glare at my ex-boyfriend and Lissa.

"Leave. Me. ALONE!" I snapped annunciating each word slow and careful.

Lissa face fell and I could feel that my shunning her was hurting. I felt a sadistic sense of satisfaction knowing that she was regretting her action in the worst possible way. Dimitri's face showed absolutely no emotion as our gazes locked. Something flickered in his eyes, but before I could make out what it was, his eyes blanked out again. He nodded his head once, grasped Lissa's elbow, and turned away from me without a single word. I watched them disappear, before I shut the door and turned my attention to the mess I made. Sighing, I grabbed my wastepaper basket and started picking up all the little shards from my broken lamp. I felt a brief pang of regret. Lissa had bought it for my nineteenth birthday. I still couldn't figure out why she thought was a good birthday gift, but I had treasured it nonetheless. It was the thought that counted right?

I finished cleaning up the plastic and glass shards. Then I put the wastepaper basket back in it's usual corner. I just stood there for a few minutes, not quite sure what to do. I don't know how much time past, but out of nowhere I was sucked into Lissa's head. Her emotions were reeling just like they had been earlier. The only difference was that they were a lot stronger than earlier. She was worried and guilt-ridden. I could feel that this wasn't how she wanted things to go. Me? I was just confused and hurt. She was standing outside in the garden. I didn't notice that anyone was with her or that she was on the verge of tears until she spoke.

"This wasn't supposed to happen," she said, voice trembling. "You two were supposed to come Saturday. On her birthday. Not today! I was going to use today to get her used to the idea. Now she's mad at me."

"Lissa, I didn't know Rose had any problems with Dimka and I coming," the bitch said. "I just thought I could help. Maybe we should leave."

"No, Rose is just being immature and acting out," Dimitri said. "She'll get over it. Her birthday is coming up. She's not going to let anything ruin it."

Lissa's temper seemed to flare at Dimitri's callous words. I had to agree with her. His words were actually quite harsh. She was looking at him, probably glaring, because he looked at her and quickly averted his eyes. She was going to say something. I could feel it, but she wasn't beat to it by her fiance.

"You don't get it," Christian said in all his sly cockiness. "Rose isn't just throwing some random fit. You have no idea how much you hurt her. You weren't here to see it."

Lissa's anger quickly turned to trepidation as she watched Dimitri and Christian square off. Dimitri's back was facing her so I couldn't see his face. I got a glimpse of Christian's before Dimitri towered over him and blocked him from my view. Christian was looking very cocky, but it also looked like he was genuinely unhappy with my loser ex-boyfriend. Who would have thought Sparky would take my side on anything, even if I was right. I could hear both men talking, but all I could make out was the tones. They both were the very epitome of anger and frustration. The were keen on keeping everyone else out of the conversation.

"THEN ENLIGHTEN ME!" Christian exploded so suddenly that Lissa jumped and actually yelped a little in surprise.

Lissa obviously had enough and approached the two. She laced her fingers with Christians and looked at Dimitri intently. Something was up with him. She couldn't tell what it was, but she knew something wasn't right. He wouldn't look at her, and any mention of me and he got highly defensive. She really wanted to know what he was hiding.

"What are keeping locked up in that head of yours?" she asked.

"If you knew, you would never ask me that," Dimitri replied.

"Then explain it to us," Christian said. "Rose hasn't been the same since you left, Dimitri. She's keeping everything bottled up until she explodes - which by the way is even more frequently than before. She's already so homocidal that Lissa's darkness hardly effects her anymore. Rose is wearing Lissa out with worry. Your little psycho is bordenline self-destructive."

"What do you want me to do about it?" Dimitri asked. "She barely looks at me. You heard her. She doesn't me hear."

Lissa's interest piqued at his tone, and it was a tone. There was real emotion in it this time. If I didn't know any better I'd swear it was pain from hearing Christian's harsh description of me. I knew better though. He didn't care about me. If he did, he wouldn't broke up with. He wouldn't have kissed Tasha right in front of me. Lissa stared at him for a long moment before she spoke again.

"You still love her."

It wasn't a question, but I could tell that Dimitri was going to answer it as if it were anyway. I didn't want to hear what he had to say so I forced myself to get out of Lissa's head. I was back in my room seconds later, my heart pounding so hard that I almost thought it would rip through my chest. I pushed the conversation out of my head just as my stomach growled. I popped into Lissa's head briefly. She was still out in the garden with Dimitri and the others. I hurried down to the kitchen and quickly started grabbing things to munch on. It didn't look like Dimitri and Tasha were going to be leaving any time soon. So I planned to avoid them for everything I was worth. That meant I need to stock up on some food . I could probably get away with it until Saturday. By then, Lissa would drag me out of my room for my party. That gave me three days to get myself in check. I could manage that.

I think.


	4. Explanation and Shopping Trip

Lissa constantly tried to get me out of my room that first day of me locking myself up and away from everyone. The second and third day she only bothered me during meals. On Saturday, she must have found a spare key or had someone pick the lock, because she had gotten into my room and woke me. I looked at my alarm clock and groaned. Was she out of her mind? It was almost six. I usually slept until eight. I hadn't gotten up this early since I was back at the academy. Still I sat up and raised an eyebrow at her.

"Liss, what are you doing?" I asked.

"I told you, Rose," she replied with a laugh. "I was getting you up early so we could go shopping and get you an awesome party dress so you can look hot on your birthday even while you get sloppy drunk."

I think she said that all in one breath. I couldn't be sure though, but I did like the idea of going shopping. Well, and getting drunk. Getting drunk would be really good about now. I was still mad at her though, but I figured that I could use this trip to find out why she did what she did. Then I can be angry accordingly. I didn't say that though. No, I just got out of bed, grabbed me a nice outfit, and went off into my bathroom to take a nice shower. When I got out, I put up my hair up into a ponytail and went to grab my stake. Lissa, however, snatched it away. I raised an eyebrow at her.

"You're not on duty today," she said. "It's your twenty-first birthday, Rose, and you will have nothing but fun."

"Then who's going to be guarding you?" I asked.

"Well Zane, of course," she said. "Oh and we found a temporary fill-in for you. Angelia Floros was kind enough to take over for a few days so you can have a break."

I stared at her blankly. Zane Novak had been my partner for a little over two years, but I didn't know anything about him. He was quiet and kept to himself, but he was efficient and lethal. He had blonde hair in a military cut and green eyes. He was a lot shorter than Dimitri but slightly taller than me. I heard of Angelia only through rumors. She was Greek, around Dimitri's age. She was supposed to be one of the best, but I never worked with her before. I eyed Lissa for a moment before I gave in... well sort of. I still snatched my stake back and holstered it.

"I'm still taking it with me," I said.

"Fine, for now," she said.

I opened my mouth to ask what she meant, but she grabbed me by my and dragged me out of my room. We were practically running to the car. I couldn't help but groan when I saw we were taking the black Expedition. I mean the car was cool and all, but I had an awesome red Saleen S7 in the garage. I love my car. I always drive it. I didn't have time to complain, because Lissa basically shoved me into the back seat through the door that was just hanging open. I slid over so Lissa could get in and looked up to see Zane was already in the driver seat. Angelia wasn't there yet. So we had to wait. Zane started the car and turned on the radio. I took the time to finally confront Lissa about Dimitri and Tasha.

"Why did you invite _them_?" I asked her quietly

"I was talking to Tasha on the phone about the wedding and had Christian inviting people for your party," she explained. "Tasha overheard him inviting Eddie and Mia. She sorta invited herself, and you know me, Rose. I couldn't just up and tell her no, not that I didn't try. I did. She just didn't hear me. They were supposed to come tonight, though. I was planning on telling you at breakfast that day. I'm sorry."

"Why didn't you tell me after the phone call?" I asked, still very confused.

"You were asleep, and I didn't think Tasha would be able to get a plane _that _fast," she said.

I nodded and we fell silent as Angelia finally got into the car. The ride was a little long, but there was no tension between Lissa and me. I stared out the window, my thoughts going where I didn't want them to go. I didn't fight it, though. I let the images of Dimitri flood. I hated myself for it, but I couldn't stop it. I loved him once. There was no way I could deny that. As much as I wanted to, I had never been able to forget. We pulled up to the mall, and Zane parked the car. We all got out and I looked at Angelina for the first time. She had bright red hair chopped in a bob and looked to be around mine and Lissa's age. She was very pretty and had sapphire orbs to kill for. We introduced ourselves briefly but then my attention was dragged off to shopping by Lissa.

We stopped at one of Lissa's favorite stores where she instantly started throwing dress after dress at me. I laughed and tried to put some back without her noticing. Sadly, she caught me about ninety percent of the time and just threw the dresses back at me and then about fifty more. By the time she shoved me into one of the dressing rooms, we both cracking up. I have no clue how many dresses I tried on before Lissa started squealing taking the rest of the dresses away. I hadn't done more than glance at my reflection with each dress, but at Lissa's reaction, I had to get a better look.

The dress was a black leather halter tux, and it was gorgeous but expensive. I saw the price tag as I went to take it off and nearly choked. It was over seven hundred. Sadly, Lissa refused to let me find a cheaper dress. She had said she could afford it just fine and that was going to give every single man in the club we would be going to heart attacks. Then she joked about if Christian died from a heart attack because of how hot I'd look she'd kill me. She was going to take me to go shopping for shoes, but I declined. I had a pair of cute flats that would go perfectly. We bought some other things and then decided to head home.

"So, who's all coming?" I asked as we were driving home.

"Me, Christian, Eddie, Mia, Dimitri, Tasha, Zane, Angelia, and your mother," she said. "Of course Zane and Angelia aren't partying with us but they're still coming."

I nodded and fell silent. When we got back to the house, we had just enough time to get ready. I hurried off to my room to change. I got into my gorgeous new dress, and then ransacked my room to find my cute little flats so I could slip those on. I put on my jewelry and make-up and did up my hair. By the time I was done, Lissa was waiting outside my door. I put my stake in my purse and then walked into the hall. Lissa and I walked down together to find that my mother, Dimitri, Tasha and Christian were already standing there. I avoided looking at Dimitri and just kept my attention on Lissa and Christian.

"Where's Mia and Eddie?" I asked.

"Meeting us there," Christian replied, kissing Lissa softly on the lips.

I nodded and let him and Liss lead us outside. I expected to find the Expedition waiting for us but in its place was limo. Zane and Angelia were standing beside it at full attention. I hurried inside with a squeal, ignoring the amused chuckles coming from my friends. This was going to be a kick-ass birthday.

* * *

**I have a couple links in my profile including Rose's room, Rose's birthday ensemble, and the song that inspired this story. Take a look if you guys are interested. Thank you for all the amazing reviews.**


	5. Poison Ivy

The ride wasn't too long, but despite my good mood, I could feel the tension in the limo. Though, I think I was the only one affected. Angelia and Zane were alert and ready for anything. Christian and Lissa were talking away. Dimitri and Tasha didn't say much but they joined in on Lissa and Christian's conversation periodically. My mother was being the stoic guardian she always was. I was the one uncomfortable. Somehow I ended up getting sandwiched between my mother and Tasha. I think at one point Tasha tried to bring me into a conversation, but I had zoned out by then. When I got tired of being silent, I sighed and looked up at Lissa.

"Where are we going?" I asked.

"Poison Ivy," she said. "You know that new dance club? Christian and I checked it out about two weeks ago. The music varies from techno, r&b, and anything else you can move to. They also have karaoke two hours a night. They've got everything. I think you'll like it."

I was actually positive that I would love it. Lissa knew what I liked, and the place sounded like it would keep me entertained for quite some time. I fell back into silence, but this time, it was purely from anticipation. I wanted to dance and couldn't get to the club fast enough. When we finally arrived, I could see Eddie and Mia waiting for us. My smile was huge and genuine as the limo stopped. I was the first one up and out. I tackled them both in a quick hug and then headed to the entrance, flashing my ID to the bouncer when he asked to see it. I walked in just as Hot Stuff by Ashlee Simpson came on. I looked back at Lissa and Mia and headed off to the dance floor to dance. I loved that song so drinks could wait. Lissa and Mia followed me, leaving my mother and the boys with our security detail.

Lissa and Mia danced with me for two more songs before Christian came to get us. I only followed him because he promised to have the alcohol ready and I was ready to start drinking. I don't drink much. It messes with the bond between Liss and me, and I am usually acting as her guardian so getting drunk is a no-no. Tonight was the only exception. I was twenty-one and Lissa gave me the night off for the purpose to get smashed and have a good time. And that was exactly what I planned on doing. When we reached the table that the others had found and set up for us, Eddie handed me a martini glass. I looked at the glass and then back up at him.

"What is it?" I yelled over the music.

"It's called an 8th Birthday," he explained, speaking just as loudly. "It's got vodka, raspberry liqueur, Dark Creme de Cacao, and milk. We figured it was a fitting drink for the birthday girl to have on her first round."

I nodded, took a seat in the booth against the wall, grabbed the glass from Eddie, and took a tentative sip. I had never tried it before and was a little unsure about Eddie's taste. It was really good, though. When I finished it, I went to go to the bar to order another one, but Lissa held me down by the shoulder so I couldn't get up. Christian stood up, chuckling at my confusion. I glared at him only to be ignored as he disappeared through into the crowd.

"We all decided you aren't buying anything," she explained. "Your job is to relax and have fun. The rest of us are taking turns buying rounds and catering to you."

"But that's not fair!" I exclaimed.

"The hell it's not!" she exclaimed back. "You deserve this, Rose, so stop trying to argue."

I slumped back into my seat and nodded. Christian came back a few minutes later, he handed me a couple blueberry daiquiris and gave Lissa a fuzzy naval. I grinned and thanked him. I let everyone talk around me, not really caring about conversation right now. I was happy, actually happy. I couldn't remember how long it had been since I felt so good. I was on my second glass when someone came up to the table. The guy was cute. He had blond hair and striking green eyes. He was the complete opposite of Dimitri. He asked me to dance with him and I agreed, taking his hand as I downed my daiquiri quickly. I caught Dimitri staring at me blankly and some untouched chord was pulled in my brain. I wanted to shake him up. I was tired of trying to be the good girl. I wanted to be bad, and I didn't care what they thought of me tonight.

"What's your name?" the guy asked against my ear.

"Rose," I answered. "Yours?"

"Marco," he said. "You're with quite a big group."

"They're my friends," I explained. "It's my birthday."

"Happy birthday then."

I grinned at him and started to dance against him. I didn't recognize the song playing, but the beat was almost as intoxicating as the alcohol. After the song was over he led me to the bar and ordered me another drink after I told him that I wanted a blueberry daiquiri. Really that had to be my favorite drink. I honestly didn't care what anyone else said about it. The drink was kick-ass, and I wouldn't hear it any other way. I stayed at the bar with Marco for a while, drinking and talking. It wasn't long before I realized he wasn't human. He was a dhampir. I found out that he was about seven years older than me and worked as a guardian for a school not to far from Vlad's. We even swapped numbers. At that point, I had lost count of how much I drank. I wanted to go back to the dance floor, but as I got off the stool I lost my balance. I would've fallen on my ass but Marco was quick to steady me.

Our eyes locked and before I knew it, I was kissing him. I opened my mouth to him with little coaxing and just fell into the sensation of his lips against mine. The last person I had kissed like this had been Dimitri. Heck, he was the last guy to touch me. Normally, I had walls up that I refused to take down, and I wouldn't so much as glance at a guy even if they appeared interested in me. I was drunk, though, and so very tired of caring. I was lost to the world around me, milking up the false bliss for all it was worth. The moment died as soon as the kiss was broken. I opened my eyes to see Dimitri standing there. He didn't look too happy, but all I did was frown at him.

"What happened to Marco?" I asked, slightly confused and hurt.

"Do you always kiss complete strangers?" he asked, not answering me.

"You haven't seen me in three years," I said, getting irritated. "How do you know he's not my boyfriend?"

"I asked Christian after I saw the surprise on your face. He told me that the guy was definitely not acquainted with you guys."

"Why do you care?"

"I just don't want to see you get hurt, Rose."

That did it. I was seriously vexed. Here Dimitri stood, dictating me. He had no right after what he did to me. This was my birthday and I wasn't going to put up with his shit. This was my day damn it! I was going to have fun and do whatever the hell I wanted to do. I didn't give a flying rat's rear what he thought about my actions. He no longer had any stake on them.

"You aren't my mentor. You aren't my boyfriend. You have no say in what I do so bite me. I'm going to find Marco and have some fun."

Dimitri opened his mouth to say something, but just then an announcement cut off the music. I felt an evil grin slide across my face as the guy announced for people to start lining up for karaoke. I hurried over to the stage to sign up, a song already in my head. I ended being the fifth one to go. That was okay. I didn't mind so long as no one else took my song.

* * *

**Okay guys I've got something for you. You guys get to pick the song Rose sings. She is in a vindictive mood and is looking to hurt Dimitri or even Tasha. She don't care which. So here are some songs that I thought would fit her mood.**

_**Talk Shit -**_**Millionaires**

_**Painted Whore -**_**Millionaires**

_**Jar of Hearts - **_**Christina Perri**

_**I'll Think of a Reason Later -**_** Lee Ann Womack**

_**Playing God **_**- Paramore**

_**Kerosene **_**- Miranda Lambert**

**So let me know which one fits her best to sing to the masses. Also if you think you have a better song that I didn't mention, feel free to tell me that song.**


	6. Vengeance is Sweet

**Okay so _Jar of Hearts _won for Rose to sing, but there were a lot of songs (especially the one's suggested to me) that I really liked. Rose will get another chance to sing another song so I'ma use the votes and suggestions to pick that song. Feel free to continue suggesting songs if you like and I'll see what I can do with 'em whether it be the song she'll sing or just the lyrics being put into words during a conversation. Oh and someone asked if I named chapter five after an episode of Gossip Girl. Well to answer that question I hadn't even realized Poison Ivy was an episode name. I got the name from a song called Posion IV, sung by the band A Kiss Could Be Deadly. I thought it would be a cool name for a club.**

* * *

I stayed close to the stage, waiting for my turn quite impatiently. The first and second songs just sort of blended together. They were cheery, obviously dedicated to guys who kept their promises and didn't steal hearts. I wasn't happy so the songs made me want to barf. During those songs, I let my thoughts wander some. Surprisingly, they wandered back to everything I had been taught. Like how moroi (the very mortal vampires) and dhampirs (those born from a moroi and a human, or more commonly another dhampir) were the good guys. It was always strigoi (the stereotypical vampire) that were called evil and cruel. How could all my teachers prepare me for that but forget to add that dhampirs could be just as cruel? Why couldn't they prepare me for such heartbreak? Oh well, at least I survived it at some point.

_'cause the love that you gave that we made wasn't able_

_To make it enough for you to be open wide, no_

_And every time you speak her name_

_Does she know how you told me you'd hold me_

_Until you died, till you died_

_But you're still alive_

My train of thought broke at those lyrics. Huh, the song fit very well. It turned out to be the third song because the fourth song ended up being Alcohol by the Millionaires. I laughed a little at that. I definitely liked those two songs. I made a silent note to look up that third song when I got home. Of course that was if I remembered it. I couldn't pretend my brain was that functional. I wasn't going to deny that I was drunk. There was no point in that.

"Next up is Rose Hathaway," the host guy said.

I felt the evil grin return to my face as got up on the stage. The guy handed me the mic and left me there. I looked out into the crowd and searched the faces for my friends and company. Mia and Eddie looked kinda confused. Lisa looked ecstatic. I wanted to laugh at Tasha and Christian's twin expressions of shock. Really, it was quite a look for the two. Our security detail and my mother were blank-faced, but I didn't care. I couldn't find Dimitri. He wasn't with them and he didn't seem to be on the floor. I did find Marco, though. He was smiling up at me and giving me a thumb's up.

"Hi, everyone," I said into the microphone. "I'm dedicating this to my very stupid ex. The song I'm going to be singing is by Christina Perri. It's called _Jar of Hearts_. I sincerely hope you all enjoy it.

_i know i can't take one more step towards you_

_cause all that's waiting is regret_

_don't you know i'm not your ghost anymore_

_you lost the love i loved the most_

I caught sight of Dimitri then. He was heading toward the stage. His guardian mask was up, but his eyes were intense as he stared up at me. I looked away from him and just continued to sing.

_i learned to live, half alive_

_and now you want me one more time_

_who do you think you are?_

_runnin' 'round leaving scars_

_collecting your jar of hearts_

_tearing love apart_

_you're gonna catch a cold_

_from the ice inside your soul_

_don't come back for me_

_who do you think you are?_

_i hear you're asking all around_

_if i am anywhere to be found_

_but i have grown too strong_

_to ever fall back in your arms_

_I've learned to live, half alive_

_and now you want me one more time_

_who do you think you are?_

_runnin' 'round leaving scars_

_collecting your jar of hearts_

_and tearing love apart_

_you're gonna catch a cold_

_from the ice inside your soul_

_don't come back for me_

_who do you think you are?_

_it took so long just to feel alright_

_remember how to put back the light in my eyes_

_i wish i had missed the first time that we kissed_

_cause you broke all your promises_

_and now you're back_

_you don't get to get me back_

_.com/jar_of_hearts_lyrics_christina__

I looked back at Dimitri as I sang that verse. It had been a mistake because his guardian mask slipped just enough for me to make out his emotions. The pain and regret floored me, causing me to fumble a little in the lyrics for second. Just as quickly as I saw his emotions, they were pushed away. I glared down at him and began singing with more intensity.

_who do you think you are?_

_running around leaving scars_

_collecting your jar of hearts_

_and tearing love apart_

_you're gonna catch a cold_

_from the ice inside your soul_

_so don't come back for me_

_don't come back at all_

_x2_

_who do you think you are?_

_who do you think you are?_

_who do you think you are?_

As I finished the song, I clipped the microphone back on its stand. People were clapping and cheering me, and I grinned brightly at the reactions. I was very glad that no one seemed to think I sucked. I hopped off the stage as the host appeared to announce the next singer. I wasn't paying attention as I weaved through the crowd toward the bar, so I ended up colliding into someone so hard that I fell back on my ass. Swearing darkly at myself, I looked up to see it was none other than Dimitri. Seeing him standing over me, I froze like a doe caught in headlights. He held out his hand to help me up, but I couldn't move. There was something in his eyes, an expression i had never seen there before, and I couldn't make out what it was. I only knew that it startled me. We stayed like that for who knows how long, but after a while of me not moving, that strange glint in his eyes was replaced with concern.

"Are you alright?" he asked over the music.

I blinked up at him for a second and then swatted his hand away. My anger toward him was resurfacing, smothering the surprise. There was no way in hell that I would ever let him touch me again. He stared at me as I got to my feet but didn't say anything. I was glad. It made ignoring him that much easier as I headed for the bar once more, aware that he was still staring at me and possibly following me. I didn't bother ordering my usual daiquiri. I just stuck to ordering regular vodka. At that point I wasn't looking to get drunk. I was looking to pass out. That unnamed expression I saw on Dimitri's face bugged the shit out of me. The image wouldn't leave me so I figured if I was unconscious I could forget about it.

Dimitri found me before i could get to the point I wanted, though, and he took my alcohol away. He pulled me off the stool and I stumbled right into him. I was so wasted that when I tried to straighten up and walk away from him I nearly fell on my ass. He caught me by the waste to steady me and all I could do was stumble over my feet as he led me back to our friends. Dimitri said something but I couldn't quite make out the words. There seemed to be an argument that I couldn't quite make the effort to follow before I was lifted into some body's arms. I settled into the hold and closed my eyes. I didn't care who held me. I just knew I was comfortable.

I opened my eyes when leather replaced the comfortable arms and looked around, a little confused. At first I didn't know where I was and started panicking. Then, a hand landed on my face and the touch was soothing. Okay, I could handle that.

"Sleep, Roza," Dimitri's voice rang in my ear.

I blinked a little, my sluggish brain trying to register what was going on. All I knew was I didn't want to sleep and I didn't like Dimitri calling me that name. I frowned and before I could stop myself I just started to talk. I kept everything bottled up for so long that it all had to come out at some point. The alcohol was forcing that point to be tonight.

"No, I dun wanna sleep," I slurred. "I wanna talk."

"Please, Rose," he said. "You're drunk. We can talk tomorrow."

"You lied," I mumbled. "Promised me, but you still hurt me."

He didn't say anything. He didn't even look at me. His eyes were glued to the scenery out the window. That just made me even angrier. Why couldn't he just face me and what he did to me? I kept talking regardless. He'd have to pay attention at some point.

"I loved you, y'know," I murmured. "Why couldn't you love me back?"

I thought he might of flinched at my question, but it could have just as easily been my intoxicated brain putting it in my head. He didn't look over to me. He didn't say a thing. I couldn't see his face to read his expression. There was nothing there to backup the reaction that my eyes seemed to have caught.

"Where's ev'yone?" I asked, noticing for the first time it was just us two in the limo.

This time, he looked over to me. His guardian mask was on. That wasn't all that surprising actually. I hadn't seen much in the way of expression from him since he got here. I refused to count those silly glimpses as emotion. Hell, I could always have imagined them.

"They're still at the club," he said. "Lissa and Christian wanted to dance, and Eddie was waiting to sing. You need rest so I told them to stay while I take you home. They argued. Mia and Lissa felt that it would be wrong to stay when the birthday girl couldn't. I told them you were too drunk to have much fun now anyway and needed to sleep it off."

"They stayin' dare all night?" I asked with a giggle.

"No, soon as we get you home, I'm sending the limo back for them."

"You mide as well go back with 'im," I told him.

"What?"

I opened mouth to speak but the limo had stopped outside the house and Dimitri got out. I was stunned silent when he scooped me back up into his arms once more. This time the nausea kicked in, and it took all my willpower not to throw up on him. Sure I was mad at him and hated him, but that didn't mean I wanted him to have to wear my puke all over his nice shirt. It was a nice shirt, too. It was soft, and seemed expensive. I really didn't want to ruin it. I managed to control my stomach and gag reflex until he got me up to my room. I thought I was going to lose my lunch then and there, but soon as I was on my bed the nausea toned down to a simple nuisance that I could probably sleep off.

"I hate what you did to me," I said. "I hate you."

"I know," he said, getting up and heading for the door.

I was started to drift off by then, but I thought he said something else. He said it low, like he didn't want me to. So maybe I misunderstood it. Still the words that seemed to reach my ear after he told me he knew confused the hell out of. What did he mean by 'it's for the best?' What's for the best? I hardly thought my hating him would be. However, I couldn't keep my mind on that for long, because before I knew it I was out like a light.


	7. Bitter Mix

I woke up the next morning with a massive headache, which worsened and was joined by a wave of dizziness when I sat up. I sat there, rubbing my temples for a little bit before I attempted to stand up. The room spun and I groaned as I trudged my way to my bathroom. I didn't bother turning on the light. I wasn't ready for the effect that it would have on me yet. I splashed my face with some cold water, and then, I left my room for the kitchen. There were some aspirin and an ice cold glass of water waiting there for me. I was gonna get some and then I was going to go back to bed. Thankfully, it was dark in the hallway. The reprieve ended in the kitchen as I entered. Not only were the lights killing my head, but Dimitri was in there. His back was to me as he poured himself some coffee. I frowned for a second at his back before heading to the medicine cabinet.

I couldn't remember much of the last night past kissing Marco and fighting with Dimitri. I wasn't sure if I had made a fool out of myself but I wasn't going to ask anyone, especially him. I grabbed the bottle of asprin, poured me out two pills, closed the bottle, put it back, and filled a glass with some water. I threw pills in my mouth and downed the water quickly. I was extremely thankful that Dimitri didn't say anything. I actually started to think he hadn't noticed I entered. Sadly that hope was dashed as I was putting my emptied glass in the sink. Dimitri decided to acknowledge me.

"I'm not going anywhere, Rose," he said, a little too loudly for my taste.

"Don't yell," I groaned, wincing a little.

"The hangover from Hell?" he asked, his amusement very obvious.

"When the hell are you leaving, Belikov?" I asked, refusing to state the obvious.

"Tasha is helping Lissa with the wedding, so we are here until the day her nephew and the Princess tie the knot. She's staying, therefore so am I."

_Oh hell,_ I thought, but before I could retort the phone rang. I winced as Dimitri picked it up. He barked his name than handed me the phone. I took it with a frown and put the receiver to my ear.

"Yeah?" I asked.

"Rose?" the masculine voice asked.

"In the flesh," I said. "Who is calling?"

"Hi, it's Marco from the club last night. I was just calling to say I had fun with you, and I was wondering if you wouldn't mind trying this out as a real date? We could go out to eat and then go back to Ivy for a couple drinks."

Oh wow. I forgot I gave Marco my number. Then again, I really hadn't expected to hear from him or see him after last night. I could feel Dimitri watching me and looked up at him. He was indeed watching, and I had the feeling he was aware who was on the other end. For the first time in years, I was actually considering the benefits of dating a guy I didn't know. I looked at Dimitri out of the corner of my eye and decided to test the waters a little.

"Well, when would you like to hook up, Marco?" I asked as cheerfully as I could possibly get my tone.

Dimitri flinched and felt the lick of vicious satisfaction as I watched the pain dance across his features. Good, he deserved to hurt just as badly as I had been hurting, probably even more than that. Of course I wasn't going to go out with the guy just because I wanted to hurt my ex-. He was too sweet to use like that. I genuinely wanted to see what he was like on a date, perhaps even as a boyfriend. Making Dimitri feel like shit was only a plus, though I didn't exactly understand why.

"How about tomorrow?" Marco asked, bringing my attention back to him and his offer. "If you aren't free, we can always reschedule."

"Tomorrow sounds great actually," I said, smiling a little. "How about you pick me up at seven?"

"Okay, see you then," he said.

We talked a little longer about the date and nothing in particular. I hung up after we exchanged goodbyes, and that was when I noticed that Dimitri was no longer in the kitchen. I would've wondered where he had gone off to, but the asprin had kicked in and I was in a good mood. I wasn't looking to fight with him right now, which seemed to be the only way I seemed to be able to talk to him. Did I like fighting with him? I actually wasn't sure. I mean on the one side he did deserve my sarcasm and insults. Then there was that very tiny part of me that missed being able to talk to him like a civil, sane person. We could fork up some very interesting conversations. Still, Dimitri brought the fights on himself. If he didn't try and pretend the last three years hadn't happened than I can be as mean to him as I wanted to be. Personally, I thought I behaving quite well. I hadn't hit him again. That had to count for something, right?

Shaking my head, I made my way back to my room. I threw one of my bikini sets on and grabbed a towel. I didn't bother slipping on shoes. The pool was inside, and it wasn't like I had to walk outside or down the street. I left my room and made my way down the hall. The pool area was empty as I entered. That was fine by me. I dropped my towel one of the chairs, threw my hair up in a ponytail, and jumped in. The water was actually a little cold. I figured no one turned the heater on, but I didn't feel like getting up to do it myself. It wasn't an uncomfortable cold, though, so I didn't really mind it.

The pool room was gorgeous. There was a huge in-ground pool that went from three feet to nine. Then there was a very roomy hot tub right next to the pool at the nine-foot end. The flooring was black marble and the walls and the ceiling were all windows, so I finally noticed that it wasn't all that late. Sky wasn't all that dark so the sun must have just set. When it was light outside, there was a perfect view of the ocean, and even pitch black outside you could make it out, but it was at its glory under the sun's rays. I usually delighted in being in a huge mansion with lots of gorgeous scenery, even if that mansion was kinda in the middle of nowhere, but I couldn't focus on the beauty all that much tonight. I was to busy thinking about the date I was going to have tomorrow. I was excited but equally as nervous.

I swam for a while, wasn't sure how much time past. It wasn't like I was paying much attention. When I swam I never really cared, even if I was shriveled into a prune. The point of swimming wasn't to look pretty. To me, it was to clear my head in a way that a good long session in the gym could not. Right now the gym would be a very bad idea. I couldn't risk thinking of Dimitri. I just wasn't in the mood to go over the asshole and my stupid mixed up feelings. Apparently, I was only allowed a short reprieve from that, because the sound of the door opening made me stop swimming and turn to see who came in. Standing there in nothing but his swim trunks with a towel draped over his right shoulder was Dimitri. His eyes locked on me and he froze. I guess he had been as anti-Rose as I had been anti-Dimitri. Now, both of our plans were dashed and we both seemed to be at a loss for how to deal with the other. Not surprisingly at all, Dimitri was the one to break the uncomfortable silence.

"Are you really going to keep trying to ignore me for two months and insult me whenever I manage to corner you?" he asked.

"Where is everyone?" I asked, getting out of the pool and heading over for my towel.

"They were shopping, now Tasha and Lissa are in Lissa's room planning the wedding and Christian is taking a nap and your mother is packing for her flight. She was looking for you when they came back. You might want to talk to her."

"Why did she even come? It's not like she's gone out of her way for me before."

"Rose, stop it. And you haven't answered my question."

Damn, of course he would notice that. I didn't say anything at first. I just focused on drying myself off. I mean what could I really say. It wasn't like I was fighting with him on purpose. I didn't exactly want to. That was why I was trying to ignore him because every time we ended up talking _he_ ended up pissing me off. See, I couldn't stand the fact that he was acting as if he hadn't taken my heart and threw it into a wood chipper.

"Stop cornering me and we don't have to fight," I said.

"So you're still going to ignore me for two months?"

"That sounds about right."

"Rose," he said my name in that way that suggested I was being unreasonable. "I get it. You hate me —"

"Whoa!" I exclaimed. "Do not put words in my mouth!"

"You told me that last night. I'm not putting anything in your mouth."

I froze. I really didn't remember that. I mean I wasn't even sure how I felt about him. In one aspect, he was a prick. Then on the other hand, I couldn't deny that I never loved him. Of course _loved _wasn't quite the right word. The word in that tense indicated that I no longer felt it for him, but that wasn't entirely true. I still felt something for him. I just didn't admit it or acknowledge it. I didn't have to, and ignoring Dimitri made that easier.

"Well, what did you expect, Dimitri?" I asked, refusing to look at him. "You _lied _to me."

"What are you talking about?" he asked, and thought he sounded a little nervous.

"You promised you'd always be there for me," I said, my temper rising with the old memories. "You promised you'd never let anyone hurt me. And you know what? I found out in the worst possible way that you're a lying piece of shit!"

My words were accusatory and sharp, but I still didn't look at him. I knew if I could see his face — his expression or lack of — I would either waver in my attack or I would completely lose it and start hitting him like the day he arrived. Neither idea really appealed to me. Yes, I wanted to smack him around a bit more, but I doubted he would let me this time. It didn't appear that I was allowed to avoid looking at him, though, because he suddenly had me by the arm. I didn't even hear him come forward, and I definitely was caught off guard as he spun me to face him. I should've punched him. I would've if it hadn't been for his expression. I had never seen him so furious.

"I have never lied to you," he growled. "I was protecting you."

"Oh right," I scoffed at him. "That's why you broke up with me and then kissed Tasha an hour later."

"It was either hurt you, myself, or bury you!" he exclaimed. "Is that what you wanted? I sure as hell didn't want to face that. I refuse to bury you, Rose. Why the hell is that so hard for you to understand? I don't get off on hurting you. It was the only choice I had."

I had only heard part of what he said. My mind had gotten tangled up in his first sentence._ Bury me?_ What did he mean by that? I was so confused. This hadn't the explanation I had expected. I was more along the it-was-just-fling or love-fades lines.

"Wait," I interrupted his rant. "Go back to the beginning. You said 'bury me.'"

"No, I didn't," he said.

His tone said no but his eyes said something else. He had let himself get worked up and slipped up. He hadn't meant to say any of that. He turned his back on me and started walking away. I followed after him instantly. There was no way I'd let him out that easily. I wanted an answer. A real answer for once.

"Go away, Rose," he said as we got out into the hall.

"No, tell me what you meant!" I exclaimed, getting him to turn around and face me. "I want to know. I deserve to-"

"BACK THE FUCK OFF, ROSEMARIE!" he shouted.

I gaped at him, frozen by shock. I've seen him angry. I've seen him angry with me. I just never seen him like this. He never yelled at me like that before, and I couldn't remember if he had ever used my entire first name before. He took my silence as a small victory, turned his back on me, and walked away. He just left me there, and there I stood for who knew how long. When I finally got my body to move, I went straight back into my room. I got into a nightgown, locked my door, and stared there all day. I realized avoiding Dimitri and everyone wasn't the answer, but my head was reeling. I was pissed at Dimitri for yelling at me like he had, but I also admitted that he had messed up and hadn't meant to say what he had said. It was a slip of the tongue, and for whatever reason, he was shaken up by the slip.

* * *

**Okay, so things I going to start heating up, and yes Marco is going to make quite a few appearances, so for all of you who want Rose and Dimitri to kiss and make up you must be patient. We all know it's going to happen, just not anytime soon. And for the the record, Dimitri really hadn't meant to be _that_ nasty to her. Just like it the comment that brewed their most recent fight, it was a slip of the tongue. Anyway, I hope enjoyed this chapter. It was pretty fun to write. Next chapter we get to learn a little more about Marco and see Dimitri squirm a little.**


	8. A Little Fire and Ice

I really hadn't left my room all day, and surprisingly enough no one had tried to get me to come out. I wasn't really sure what was bothering me more: the fact that Dimitri implied that my well being was the reason he hurt me or just his reaction to me asking him about it. Neither part of that conversation sat well with me, and I spent most of my time in my little blockade zigzagging from his implication and his very nasty departure. I hadn't gotten much sleep. When I finally fell asleep, it was fitful and plagued with a strange images of Dimitri and me from our recent fights to that day he left. When I woke up, I was groggy and felt half-dead. I took a shower in an attempt to wake myself up, but it didn't really work as well as I had hoped.

I got out of the shower and was still feeling like a zombie all doped up or something. I didn't even care about how I looked. I just threw on some jeans and an old t-shirt. Then I brushed my hair a little and left it down. Then I left my room to go to the dining room for breakfast. I wasn't surprised to find that everyone was there already. Well almost everyone. I couldn't help but notice that Tasha and Dimitri were missing in action. They didn't stay in my mind long, however, because I quickly noticed the food on the huge table. My eyes widened at the fluffy dough balls that were covered in sugar.

"What's that?" I asked, pointing at them.

"Orange zeppole," Christian answered, shrugging nonchalantly. "Italian doughnuts. There's chocolate sauce to dip them in, too."

"You cooked them?" I asked.

"Yeah, I figured since Margie's on vacation _someone _should cook something tasty."

Margie was the house cook and well maid, and she had caused quite an uproar when the question to hire as such arose. Christian liked to cook, and he wasn't really to fond of the idea of people waiting on him much. Lissa was the same in that last aspect of things, but Margie was the only exception. See, we had run into her shortly after graduating. She was only about sixteen, but was an emancipated minor. When we found her, she was a mess. She had been evicted from her apartment and was in a whole heap of trouble with drugs and theft. Liss had taken pity on her and had offered her a job and a place to live. Christian and I hadn't been as quick to welcome her. After all, she had an attitude worse than ours and was known for illegal activity, but she had eventually grown on us as soon as it became obvious she would clean up her act. Now she was off visiting her older sister for a couple weeks.

"Got tired of take-out?" I teased.

"Oh shut up," he said. "You know you like my cooking."

I nodded and picked up one of the doughnuts and dipped it in the bowl of chocolate sauce before taking my seat across from him and Lissa. I took a bite and groaned in delighted. Now, everyone knows I love doughnuts. These particular ones made by Christian were pure heaven. I hadn't realized that there was actually bits of orange in both the dough and the sugar until I took a bite. The fruity tang of orange blended into sheer bliss with the chocolate.

"You have got to show me how make these," I said another bite of my doughnut. "Or risk having to constantly make these every morning."

Lissa laughed at me. Christian shook his and rolled his eyes. He looked like he might make snide comment, but it never came. That was odd. I gave him a questioningly look, but he practically threw me five doughnuts and some chocolate sauce. Okay now I was confused. I opened my mouth to ask him what was up, but I guess Lissa realized his odd behavior and knew the reason. I got hit pretty hard with a mix of worry and even a little anger. I looked at her to see she was looking behind me, unlike Christian. He seemed to prefer focusing on breakfast. I frowned and turned to look over my shoulder only to freeze as I saw the source of the odd behavior.

Dimitri had just entered the dining room. He wasn't looking at me, but I could tell he was aware of my presents simply by how tense he was and the fact he was so obviously avoiding me. I couldn't tell if it was because he was still mad at me or if he was regretting the fight. I could tell that Lissa and Christian had some idea about what happened simply by their reactions. Had they heard it? Did he tell them? Suddenly I wasn't very hungry, but I returned my attention to my plate. The silence had never been so deafening, but I was thankful when Lissa broke it.

"Rose, that guy you with last night called," she said, sounding confused. "You didn't tell me you were going to go out with him tonight."

"Oh shoot! I completely forgot. What time is it?"

"Half-past seven," she said.

"Is it alright for me to go?" I asked

"Of course, Rose. You need it. Oh and he had called like ten minutes before you came down here to say he was running late and would pick you up at eight-thirty instead."

I swore under my breath darkly and rushed out of the room, nearly shoving past Dimitri who seemed to become one of those creepy statue people. I didn't give him a passing thought. I was too mortified that I had forgotten about the date with Marco and now only had an hour to get ready. This was so not how I planned the day to go. I sighed as tried to find something decent to wear. In the end, I found a real nice black skirt that went to my knees, a red double-strap knot halter top, and my black back-zip pumps. I changed into the outfit and put my hair up in a simple updo. I was doing my make-up when a knock came to my door.

"Come in," I said.

"We haven't been able to talk much at all, you know," Lissa said as she entered. "You're going to have to tell me all about this date of yours when you get back."

"I don't know when that'll be," I commented finishing up with my make-up and slipping my chocker and earrings on.

"That's fine, so long as you tell me, and I will be waiting up."

I laughed at her mild threat and shook my head. My humor disappeared when Dimitri's face came into view in the mirror. I turned in my chair and stared at him. He wasn't looking at me. His gaze seemed glued on my carpet. I frowned a little. Shouldn't I be the one to be giving the cold shoulder? He had been the one to act like a complete ass this time. Granted I had been a bitch, myself, but I didn't explode on him for no reason and with no explanation.

"God, Belikov, do you know how to knock?" I snapped

* * *

**Hey, guys. I hope you like this chapter. I realize its kinda slow and uneventful but don't worry things will get better. Next chapter isn't going to have much Dimitri in it, but there is going to be something interesting that's going to happen between Rose and Tasha. Anyway, please review! I really enjoy your input.**


	9. More Questions, No Answers

"Why should I bother?" he said evenly, finally looking up at me. "It's not like I haven't seen you. Besides, you've been getting ready for an hour and I heard Lissa. I figured the period where privacy is a must was over."

_Ouch_. I couldn't believe he said that. Yes, he had seen me naked on more than one occasion, but the way he had said it made it all sound like something nasty and vile. By the amped up anger and disgust that came off her, Lissa picked up on it, too. I glanced at her and frowned at her expression. She was glaring at him in that way that usually made me think it was caused by the fact that she was a Spirit-user. At the moment, I had no doubt it was entirely her and the fact that Dimitri was being uncharacteristically mean. Neither of us understood his behavior, but I wasn't going to let Lissa fight my battles. That never ended well for everyone involved.

"You're just sour, because Viagra can't even _begin_ to solve your problems in the bedroom," I said in that artificial Sweet-n-Low tone that I adopted when I am massively pissed off and on the verge of killing someone. "Don't worry, love, your secret's safe with us. Now why are you in my room?"

_Rose!_ Lissa chastised through the bond, trying to sound disappointed. I could feel amusement, though, and it was obvious she was trying not to laugh. My attention wasn't on her much, however. No, most of my focus was on Dimitri. His mask had slipped, and I could see he was furious. There were other things there too. Pain? Regret? Maybe the faintest hint of amusement? I didn't understand that at all, but at the moment I didn't really care. I was waiting for an answer. He seemed to realize that to, because he suddenly stiffened and his emotions left him once more.

"Your date's waiting downstairs," he said plainly.

I frowned at his back as he turned it to us and walked out of the room. I shook my head and grabbed my purse. I quickly promised Lissa I'd tell her all about the date and then hurried off down the stairs to find Marco sitting in the living room, being entertained by Christian. I froze in my tracks before either guy could see me. Seriously, Christian playing entertainer could not be good. Sure, we have grown to live with each other but it was definitely in that sibling rivalry sort of way. You know, the brother annoys sister so sister punches brother and brother destroys her favorite shirt. Yes, we really have stooped that low.

"No way!" Marco exclaimed, sounding shocked and a little scared. "She really did that?"

"Christian!" I whined. "What damage did you cause to my reputation now?"

"I was just telling your date here," he answered smugly as I approached. "How your last boyfriend needed to get surgery to retrieve a very valuable part of his anatomy after he pissed you off."

_Adrian,_ I thought with a sigh. A little after Dimitri's abandonment, I decided to give Adrian a chance. He was a great guy but we had gotten into a huge fight about trust and some stuff like that. Dimitri's name came up, and I ended up kicking him a little too hard in his family jewels. We hadn't talked to each other since.

"Maybe you should tell Belikov that story," I mused. "He's finding it very difficult not to push my buttons."

Marco shook his head, but otherwise appeared amused. He got to his feet as I grabbed my coat. The ride was silent but surprisingly comfortable. I was surprised when we stopped at IHOP. I raised my eyebrow at him and he just chuckled.

"Oh c'mon," he said. "It's breakfast no matter the time, and this is a human establishment. Besides, it is kinda still breakfast for us vampires."

"Yes, but we aren't vampires," I reminded him.

"We're half vampire," he corrected.

I laughed and just shook my head at him as we entered the restaurant. It didn't take long to be seated. The waitress came shortly after that, and I ordered a Coke while he ordered some coffee. We just looked through the menu in silence until the waitress came back with our drinks.

"Are you ready to order?" she asked.

"Yeah I'll have the blueberry crepe," I said.

"The BLT," Marco said.

She wrote it down and disappeared. We started talking then. I learned some interesting things about him. He was born in Chicago, but he grew up in Miami. There he attended a school like Vladimir's. After graduation, he stayed on as a school guardian. That bit I already knew, but he went a little further. He went into his childhood a little, and talked about a friend of his from the school. His tone was a thick show of fondness, but there seemed to be a bitter underlay. It was so small and insubstantial that I wasn't sure if I had even actually heard it.

We talked about me mostly, especially once the food came. He wanted to know how old I was and how I got assigned to Lissa, but managed to be allowed freedom to have my own life. I answered his questions as I honestly as I could but avoided delving into mine and Lissa's relationship to much. When it came to Dimitri, I completely shut him down and suddenly wanted to go home.

"You know what, Marco?" I asked after we had both finished eating. "I think we should call it a night. I had fun and would love to go back to Poison Ivy, but I'm just not in a clubbing mood. I'm sorry."

"Don't be sorry," he said. "We can dance some other time."

He called for the check and paid despite all my protests. I was bad when it came to that aspect of dating. The car ride back home was silent, and I didn't feel as uncomfortable as I had most of the night. I was actually something of a mess. The mention of Dimitri brought my good mood down drastically as I remembered how close we had once been and compared it to the enemies we seemed to have become. I was grateful that Marco didn't intervene and just let me mope a little. The second I was home, I searched out Lissa and found her sitting on her bed with Christian - who was in the middle of kissing down her neck when I barged in.

"Out, Firecracker!" I barked.

He rolled his eyes and grumbled a little about how this was his room as well as Lissa's. I paid no real attention since he had gotten off the bed and sauntered out of the room regardless of his displeasure. Soon as the door shut behind him, I began in on my rant.

"The date couldn't have been better, but he had to ask about my relationship with Dimitri," I said. "Why is it he has to ruin everything for me? Why is being such an ass? I don't understand it, Liss. Marco took me to IHOP and we were going to go back to Poison Ivy, but I can't shake off Belikov's idiotic behavior long enough to enjoy myself. I mean, what is his deal? It should be me who is being the unreasonably nasty one. Why did he take _my_ job?"

"Well," Lissa said slowly, thoughtful. "Did you ever consider that maybe he's. . . jealous?"

"Jealous of what? _He_ left _me_!"

"I know, I know. I dunno, Rose. I sort of overheard a conversation he was having with Tasha earlier. He seemed really upset about something. Tasha kept saying how he couldn't hide it from you forever and to just tell you. I couldn't really make sense of it and wasn't given any more time to eavesdrop because Tasha spotted me."

"Ugh! I think I'm getting a migraine," I complained, rubbing my temples. "I can't deal with this right now. I'm gonna go take a nap."

I turned without waiting for a reply and headed to my room. I slipped out of my outfit and into a pair of gray sweats and a tank before crawling into bed. I was actually surprised how easily sleep took me. My nap must have lasted a while, because when a knocking on my door finally woke me, I was feeling revived and well-rested. So, I got out of bed and answered the door to see Tasha on the other side. To say I was surprised was an understatement. We hadn't spoken to each other at all really, and I certainly hadn't gone out of my way to make her feel welcome. Still she was standing in front of my bedroom door.

"Can I help you?" I asked, as emotionless as I could, but I could here the hint of disdain.

"We need to talk," she said, brushing past me and into my room without invitation. "He's going to be furious with me, but you need to know a few things. You also need to be aware that I can't tell you everything. Only Dimitri can do that."

I was so confused and annoyed until she said Dimitri's name. My confusion turned to curiosity, and my annoyance shifted to him. Why was Tasha willing to tell me what was wrong with him, but he couldn't even talk to me himself. Well, one thing was for sure, at least I was going to get some answers. They were long overdue to me, and I deserved them. I motioned for her to sit on my bed, but I took my vanity set chair. It was then that I truly realized just how mean I'd probably been to the woman over the years.

"So?" I pressed awkwardly.

"Well," she began, getting comfortable on my bed, "you should know that there was never anything going on with me and Dimitri."

"Wait, but he kissed you!" I exclaimed. "I saw him."

"Yes, it happened," she said. "I'm not going to deny it, but this is a part of the story I can't delve too deeply in. It was my idea but the kiss wasn't entirely what it seemed. He didn't leave you for me, Rose. He would have never done that, and I would have never asked him to. I would've loved for there to be something between us, but you two were perfect for each other. He's not going to tell you anything. He's not going to let you in this time no matter how badly he wants to. Trust me, he does not enjoy keeping this from you. It's why he's so..."

"Nasty to me?" I supplied when she gave up trying to find the word she was looking for. She nodded sympathetically so I continued. "Why are you telling me all this if you aren't supposed to?"

"This is killing him," she said. "It's why I jumped at the chance to come down here so soon before the wedding. I thought that if he saw you, and realized that nothing was going to go wrong, that he'd be happy to take you back." She paused to chuckle a little. "Of course I wasn't counting on his stubbornness and your temper. Well I should go before he realizes that I'm not in any other room of the house."

"He doesn't want you talking to me?"

She paused in the middle of standing up and said, "He doesn't want me to meddle, but I told him I would set a few things straight with you whenever I got the chance. He's been spending most of his time keeping me away from you. Though, I'm not sure if it's because he's afraid of what I might tell you or afraid of you using me as a punching bag."

I just stared at her blankly as she straightened up. The conversation may have answered one of my questions but it also gave me some more. I watched her walk to the door just as it opened. I froze as Dimitri barged in. He definitely didn't look happy. I think I was the only one scared though, and he was glaring at Tasha and hadn't even glanced at me.

"Oh don't give me that look, Dimitri," she said, chuckling lightly. "I only told her what she needed to hear and would you stop being an ass to the girl. I know you were taught better manners than this. C'mon, Dimka, lets go. Apologize to Rose for barging into her room and not even bothering to acknowledge her so we can go and you can yell at me for not listening to you."

I just sat there frozen. I wasn't sure what was going to happen, but I was surprised that Tasha seemed unperturbed by Dimitri's bad mood. He glared at her a little bit longer before he turned to me and finally spoke. To say I was nervous was an understatement. I mean, all we've been doing was fighting and ripping at each other. This should be interesting at least.

* * *

**Thank you for all your wonderful reviews and there's some input that I'm dying to comment on but that would so ruin things for you guys. So this is going to be painfully difficult for me, but I will say this. Tasha for once isn't that bad guy everyone portrays her as. I don't know. Yes, it's obvious she likes Dimitri and wanted him as more than a friend, but she just doesn't seem the type to be a bitch about not getting her way. The way her personality is makes me see her as a lot more understanding than that. Maybe she was a little upset about it, but I don't see acting out maliciously.**


	10. Volatile Truce

Or so I thought he was going to speak, but his mouth shut just quickly as it had opened. I didn't expect Dimitri to take his time. I wasn't the only one who didn't want to talk. He certainly didn't exactly go out of his way to try. Well, sometimes he did, but I wasn't sure he actually did that on purpose or not. At the moment he was just staring at me. It sort of made me uncomfortable, especially when Tasha mumbled something about going to the bathroom and left me alone with him. He didn't seem to feel the same way as he shut the door behind her retreating figure and leaned against it.

"When did Tasha start treating you like a child with ADD?" I joked, trying to break the awkward.

"I'm not sure," he admitted, lips twitching ever so slightly. "Probably when she started calling me a brat. I am sorry for snapping at you the way did, though. I hadn't meant to."

"Then why did you?"

"I don't know," he said.

It was lie. He knew exactly why he did what he did. He just didn't want to tell me. I watched as his gaze shifted to the floor. This entire time he had managed to get a hold of his temper and put the guardian mask back on. I frowned not sure what to do or say.

"You do know," I countered quietly. "You just don't want to tell me."

"What did Tasha tell you?" he asked, blatantly ignoring my comments.

I had the distinct impression that he was trying to figure how much damage she had done. He was probably trying to figure out if he could leave it alone and not delve into what he apparently didn't want me to know. I wasn't really sure what to tell him. I mean would he deny her words were true? Would he call her a liar?

"She told me that you didn't leave me for her," I said, biting my lip a little. "She told me she was basically a prop to help. Were you hoping I saw the kiss so I'd hate you?"

"Not exactly," he said. "The last thing I wanted was for you to hate me. Look Tasha wasn't lying. The kiss was nothing more than a show and we have never been anymore than friends, but this is a conversation we cannot talk about."

"Wait, you have to explain this to me because I'm really confused," I said.

"Let it go, Rose," he said, firmly but more like the old Dimitri. He wasn't being mean. "Just don't push me on this, okay? I'm here for two months. The last thing I want to do is spend that time avoiding you and fighting with you. So just this once, please don't push me."

I nodded but made my way towards him. He stiffened ever so slightly, but didn't stop me. I just stood in front of him, staring at him. Part of me wanted to smack him. Part of me wanted to kiss him. Part of me wanted him to hold me and tell that his weren't as bad as I was starting think. He just stood there, staring right back at me intently. I think he could see the emotions playing on my face, because his face was a roller-coaster of the counterpart of each emotion that ran through me.

"What if I can't?" I asked.

"Then it'll be a long, miserable two months for us," he answered honestly.

The silence fell between us then was the comfortable sort I was used to around him. He was watching me intently, and I may have been looking at him but my mind was stuck on the day he left me. Instead of the usually anger and hurt that usually accompanied the memory, it brought up new emotions like curiosity. And concern. It wasn't just concern for Dimitri. With his slip the other day and what I just learned today, I was understanding bits and pieces of what I always found confusing and irrelevant. For instance, the way he had acted up until he finally broke things off. There was a point where he wouldn't leave my side and seemed to think strigoi might be lurking in every dark crevice. I had overlooked it, because we were inside the school and I hadn't sensed anything amiss aside from his behavior. I had chalked it up to him having planned the break up thoroughly, but now I was starting to consider maybe it had been more than that. I mean was it that far off? Strigoi weren't the only evil out there.

"Rose?"

"Someone wanted to kill me that day."

It wasn't a question, because the facts seemed to be pointing to that. Dimitri just stared at me with that 'I'm-not-encouraging-this' look of his. He knew me to well, and he could tell I was fishing. I sighed in defeat. There was only so much a girl could do, and he knew all my tactics to getting answers. Well, at least the lack of an answer tells me something. I'm probably not far off the mark.

"Can you blame me for trying?" I ask, unrepentant.

"How was your date?" he said.

I paused, surprised by the question. He sounded nonchalant, but he wouldn't meet my gaze. It was entirely unexpected. I tried to think of how I would explain it and suddenly found myself glaring at him.

"You ruined it!" I exclaimed harshly.

"I was here the whole time!" he exclaimed back, shocked and confused.

"You've been treating me like a leper for since that stupid fight at the pool," I said. "First you yell at me like I'm some rookie blood whore and your my most unsatisfied customer. Then, at breakfast ignore me like I'm Invisible Man daughter who's a mute."

He sighed heavily as I ranted. He looked sort of annoyed but also had that hint of regret. I didn't care I was to fired up.

"И позвольте борьбе начинать," [Translation: And let the fight begin]he muttered in Russian.

"Then when Marco got here," I continued, ignoring him, "you barge into my room and make me feel like something dirty. You seem to think that insults brush right off me like confetti. Well guess what, Mr. Belikov, I'm not bulletproof! So when the conversation turned from me to my friends, I went from happy to bitter and cut the date short. Now he probably thinks I just blew him off."

"Don't worry about it," he said after a moment. "If he doesn't go back out with you, he's an idiot. And, I am not encouraging this fight even more than I'm not encouraging your digging. "

I just stood there stunned into silence. Dimitri waited for a second, smirked at my inability to communicate, turned around and left. When the door shut behind his retreat, I shook my head. I couldn't really tell what had just happened, but it seemed as if we had somehow come to a very volatile truce.

* * *

**This chapter's a little shorter than I would have liked, but I thought that the conversation deserved a chapter to itself and flooded out by the other characters.**


	11. In the Shadows

The days went by quite uneventful. Marco and I went on a few other dates, but Lissa would not let me go back to guarding. She claimed that my birthday present from her was a two-week vacation. I wasn't exactly happy about that. So while Angelia took my place for my vacation, I got to do what I wanted. Then to make things that much better, Dimitri and I could be in the same room without fighting within the first fifteen seconds, and I was actually being nice to Tasha much to her, Lissa, and Christian's surprise. In fact, I was with Lissa and Tasha at the moment in Tasha's room looking at some catalogues for wedding dresses and stuff.

"Hey, Liss what about this one?" I asked, pointing to the one that caught my eye.

It was mostly white, was sleeveless, and was in a cocktail style. I thought it would look perfect for her. She and Tasha looked at it and grinned. The chest area was scattered with silver and pale green beads. The entire dress had elegant swirls of silver and green, matching the beads.

"I like it," Liss said, writing down the id number and the catalogue name so she could go back to it.

We weren't really looking for _the_ dress. We were just looking for possible dresses. We were going to go back over the options next week and then choose _the_ dress. So we were all just going crazy over whatever dress we thought Liss would look amazing in. Really, crazy was quite an understatement. We had twenty-five possible dresses so far. I was almost done with the last of my catalogues, when my stomach growled.

"Any of you hungry?" I asked.

They both nodded, and I sighed. Margie was still on vacation. Christian and Dimitri were off doing something, I really didn't want any leftovers from the fridge, and let's face it, I can't even boil water. Besides, I had a taste for some fast food.

"Do you guys want Burger King or Taco Bell?" I asked. "I want junk."

"Taco Bell's probably the only place open," Liss said.

They both told me what they wanted after a tiny argument over whether they would go with or not. They wanted to come and Lissa pushed for me to take Zane with at the very least. I agreed only to find he wasn't really anywhere to be found, but I didn't mind it really. In fact, I actually wanted the time alone. I needed some time to think. So as I drove into town in my beautiful Saleen, I let my thoughts wander — mostly to mine and Dimitri's strange truce and the conversation that had led up to it. The very thought that someone may have wanted to kill me made me a little nervous. Sure strigoi wanted to kill me every day, but that was different from something else wanting to kill me. The only person I could think of would be Victor Dashkov, but something told me for once it had nothing to do with him. Sighing I drove into the drive-thru of the Taco Bell and placed the orders. I got two cheese roll-ups for Liss, a MexiMelt for Tasha, and two flatbread chicken sandwiches for me.

When I got home, Christian and Dimitri were back and everyone was seated in the living room. I tossed the girls their lunches and went to the kitchen to get me something to drink. I grabbed out a bottle of sour melon gatorade, and started to eat in there. I still wanted to be alone, my mind still reeling. I was so deep in thought that I didn't even hear someone enter the kitchen until they tapped on my shoulder - which made me jump and very nearly choke on my food.

"Sorry."

The word came with that Russian accent. I sighed and turned to face Dimitri. He was staring at me intently. It made me the slightest bit uneasy. I knew that expression on his face. He wanted to talk. Despite the truce, we still weren't exactly on friendly terms. We still ended up fighting with each other, just not as frequently as it had been. He had gotten a little too anti-Marco, and I was having some issues with allowing him the right to keep his secrets to himself. It may entertain Christian, but it made the rest of us a little uncomfortable, especially for Lissa and Tasha when we fought in private but still showed our displeasure to the point a fight was obvious even if it hadn't happened with witnesses. I didn't like the fighting, but I liked his stubbornness even less. Seriously, why couldn't he tell me the real reason he left if I was wrong all this time.

Then there was the subject of Marco. At first, Dimitri seemed okay with him, but things changed almost abruptly. The third date I had with Marco was here at the house. He stayed for one of Christian's famous dinners and to get to know everyone. That day Dimitri seemed to grow irritated with Marco right before my eyes. He was usually civil to Marco, but when it was just him and me, things weren't so nice. A part of me was delighted to see Dimitri jealous, but a much bigger part of me was just plain annoyed. Marco was a really nice guy, and he didn't have some freaky obsession with the Old West and cowboys.

"It's fine," I assured him. "Did you want something?"

"You've been in here a long time," he said. "I just wanted to see if you were okay."

I let my breath out in a huff. There was a tiny instant of time when I thought he was going to say something like _me_. There was still a part of me that wanted him to want me. Perhaps that was why that twisted pleasure seemed to be overlapping the annoyance more and more each day. I was hoping it was jealousy driving his irate actions. That would mean he still loved me, still wanted me. I brushed that thought off with an inward groan. If I started down this road, I was going to need to get Liss to admit me into the funny farm.

"Thanks for the concern, Comrade, but I'm fine," I assured him, finishing my last flatbread sandwich. "Where's Zane?"

"I have no idea actually," he said. "I thought he was outside guarding the perimeter. He should be."

I nodded unconcerned for the most part. If Zane was supposed to be outside, then chances were we'd never find him. The guy had a tendency to blend in with his surroundings, particularly outside in the dark. So I let it go and tossed my garbage away before I took one last sip of my gatorade. Then, I put it in the fridge and went to leave the kitchen. I was vaguely aware of Dimitri following me, but I ignored him up until I got to the front door. I turned around to face him and nearly ran smack into his chest.

"Where are you going?" he asked.

"I was going to go for a run," I said.

"Do you want company?"

I shook my head and waited until he left to go back to the others before I walked out the door. Aside from magic wards, the mansion's entire perimeter was bordered by a high brick wall. The brick wall also blocked the ward since it was normally set inside the perimeter, set a foot from the wall. It had been my idea. The wall was a human barrier. Strigoi could easily jump it or find a way around but they couldn't cross the wards. Humans weren't likely to find it so easy, and they were the ones that could break the wards.

We didn't exactly have a track in here, but whenever I ran, I used the wall as my track. As I ran, I let my mind wander. I thought about many different things, things that had been bugging me for the longest time. I thought about Marco and all of our dates. He was a sweet guy, and I was starting to really enjoy his company. He was even more illusive than Dimitri when it came to his past. I didn't actually know very much about him at all. Then there was Dimitri. It was getting very obvious that he didn't like Marco, but I couldn't really figure out why that would be. Was Dimitri truly jealous that I was dating him? Or did he not like Marco for different reasons that had nothing to do with me? My attention was so wrapped around all these thoughts that they weren't on my surroundings. My senses were so slack that an angry tiger could have been growling at me and I wouldn't have noticed.

This was a very bad error on my part. The house may be protected quite well, but there were still loopholes to get around the security. My mistake was not paying attention, because there were probably something that could have warned me of what was coming before it happened. Instead, I noticed nothing until I was actually grabbed and slammed into the wall face first. My attacker was strong and smart — most likely a dhampir. He didn't give me any real room to get leverage. That didn't stop me from trying anyway, and boy, did I try. I was the one with the disadvantages, though, and they just kept building up.

I was strong, sure, but my attacker was a lot stronger. He was also keeping his body out of the way of my feet. I was pretty much powerless, and I hated it. It was like the guy knew what I would do before I did it, and he wouldn't let me look at him. He was wearing all black, but that was all the information I could gather from how I was being pinned. I forced my body to relax after it became clear that fighting wasn't doing any good. The benefits of not exhausting myself were plenty. I wasn't going to get tired out, and my attacker would let down his guard. That's exactly what happened to.

We just stayed there in perfect silence for a while. Eventually, his hold on my arms loosened and I acted. I ripped my arm free and jabbed my elbow backward. It connected with his ribs and gave me just enough time to bolt out of his reach. Before I could turn to square off with him, I was tackled to the ground.

"Stop fighting," he grunted as I struggled to get him off me.

I froze instantly. The voice stunned me. On the whole, I never heard it before in my life, but there were things I recognized. For one, the accent was Russian. That was the only familiar thing I could specifically pinpoint. There were other things though. These other factors I could not pinpoint. I just felt I recognized the voice, just couldn't place it.

"Good girl," the asshole said in my ear. "Now, you're going to do a few things for me. First, you're going to close your eyes nice and tight. I'll roll you onto your back and you will stay that way. If you open your eyes, I'll rip them out. Then I'm going to give you a little message. If you behave, this will be relatively painless. Nod if you understand."

I nodded and closed my eyes tight. I clenched my teeth as I felt him roll me over. The first thing that came to mind was fight. I stayed still as a statue though, especially when I felt something cold and sharp slip under my shirt. A knife. It had to be, and I wasn't armed at all. I didn't think to bring my stake with me. I didn't make it a habit of carrying any other sort of weapons with me all that often either. I tensed as I heard fabric tear. That better not be my — scratch that. It was my shirt. Okay my temper was rising. I was getting nervous and that was making me so much more pissed. Before I could even consider attacking the bastard, however, I felt a sharp pain on my abdomen and gasped. I nearly opened my eyes, but he must have noticed because the knife was pressed against my face, dangerously close to my eye.

"Sorry, I didn't say it was going to be entirely painless," he said. "This might hurt a little, but try not to scream. I don't want to have to cut that tongue of yours off."

I gritted my teeth, wanting nothing more than to pummel him. He was the one with the advantage though. He had the weapon and all of his senses going for him. He had cut off my sight and seemed to be paying very close attention to my eyelids. I tested the theory by opening one eye very, very slowly. I stopped as soon as the knife on my face pressed into my skin. I shut them tight once more. When he seemed satisfied I wouldn't open them again, he returned to whatever he had been doing to my stomach. Not screaming became surprisingly hard, because it felt as if he was carving something into my skin as deep as he could without causing any lethal damage. I felt awful for letting him do whatever he wanted to me, but what use would I be if I was blind and mute — or worse, dead? Absolutely no use at all.

"All done," he said, tone holding sickly sadistic pleasure. "Now stay like that for five minutes and then go back inside and mingle with your friends. I will see you later."

I shivered in disgust, but nodded. I felt him get off me and heard him scale the wall. I waited a few minutes and then got to my feet. I looked down at myself and swore darkly. My shirt was torn halfway down and my stomach was a bloody mess. I was pissed — a little freaked out — but mostly just pissed. First off the asshole ruined my favourite shirt. Second, he carved gibberish and nonsense into my skin. Third, I didn't _do _anything to stop him. I was still fuming when I went back into the house. I wasn't planning on telling anyone what happened. I was going to clean up and go to bed. Then I was going to call Adrian. Sure we didn't end things on good terms, but maybe he'll heal this stupid shit without asking questions or telling anyone. The attack was weird and seemed pointless. It just didn't make sense.

"Rose!" Lissa's voice rang out in alarm.

I jumped a little, once again so deep in my head that I hadn't taken in my surroundings. Lissa's worried voice brought me back to reality and I looked around. She was standing by the entrance to the living room looking at me with wide eyes. Christian and Tasha were right behind her. They had probably heard me come in and was curious that I hadn't taken hours to run. I really hadn't been out long at all, well not compared to my normal runs. All three of them had their eyes on my stomach, eyeing the carve job. I shook my head at them and turned to go up the stairs.

"What happened to you?" Christian asked.

I paused because though his tone was snide and smug, there was real concern hidden in it. We may not get along all that much but we pretty much considered each other family at the end of the day. We might be dysfunctional but that was beside the point. Christian and Lissa were my family and vice versa. I was so not going to get into this with him or anyone one else.

"I got bored and decided to give myself a tattoo," I said.

"A tattoo with a knife and no ink?" he asked, not buying it.

I just shook my head and turned to go up to my room, but froze as Dimitri came into view. Had he been there the whole time? He was so quiet and just staring at me with that guardian mask of his on overdrive. I couldn't tell what he was thinking at all. My attention shifted again as I saw Lissa come toward me. I held out my arms to keep her at a distance.

"Don't even think about it," I told her.

"You're hurt, Rose," she said as if the words settled everything. "And don't you dare tell me you did this yourself."

"No," I said firmly before I turned and hurried to my room.

I heard a muffled argument as I entered my room from the group I left down there. The noise died as I shut the door and cut it off. I frowned and made my way to the bathroom. I was peeling off my shirt when I heard the door to my bedroom open I tensed when the voice rang in the air.

"Rose?" Dimitri called softly.

"Bathroom, in my jeans and bra," I replied after a moment, tossing my ruined shirt in the garbage.

He walked into the bathroom then. I was actually hoping the fact I was shirtless would make him turn away and go back to the others. He obviously had no intentions of leaving, though. My fears were confirmed as I noted the peroxide and bandages in his hand. He saw me looking at them and shrugged.

"I figured you could use some help," he said simply.

"You just wanted to get a look at the gibberish," I said, teasing him just a little.

"Hush, and don't move," he said, grabbing one of my hand towels and pouring some of the peroxide on it.

He sat down on the toilet and turned me to face him so he could clean my stomach. I flinched a little and not just because the carvings stung like a bitch. His voice reminded me about the attack, and my attacker had definitely been Russian. That was the only similarity though. The voices had been completely different. In fact, my attacker's accent was actually stronger than Dimitri's. The silence was deafening, and for once, it wasn't comfortable either, but I think it had to do with me. I had never been able to lie to Dimitri, and he probably already knew I had lied downstairs.

"It's not gibberish," he said tightly after he was done cleaning it . "I can read it just fine."

I looked down at him. His mask had dropped to show his displeasure. He looked extremely pissed off, and I had the feeling he wasn't going to let me lie if he asked about what had happened outside. This was going to be a long night, but I didn't think he was angry at me for once.

"What is it?" I asked, though I was beginning to have an idea. "What does it say?"

* * *

**Yes Rose just got attacked. Now what is this little message on her stomach, and where the heck was Zane? Will Dimitri finally tell her his dirty little secret? Does the attack have to do with this secret? Lol Don't you just love all these questions and cliffhangers? Okay I'll stop picking on you guys for now. I hope you liked this chapter.**


	12. The Game

"It's in Russian," Dimitri said darkly. "Rose, tell me what happened outside."

The command was soft, and more of a request than an order. It made me look away, ashamed. I should have done something to stop the guy. He should not have been able to get me on the ground or keep me there. I didn't do a damn thing though. I didn't want to admit this to anyone, least of all Dimitri. Since he was sitting on the toilet and I was standing upright, I was slightly taller than him. So I kept my eyes on a spot of the wall just above his head. I couldn't let him know what happened. There was no way in hell that I was going to tell him anything.

"Nothing," I said, shaking my head.

He let out a sigh and stood up, grabbing my face between his hands as he did. Smart man. He didn't want me to look away, but he couldn't control my eyes. I closed them tightly just like I had done for Mr. Russian Asshole. The only difference was that I wasn't dealing with Mr. Russian Asshole. I was dealing with a Russian god - though he could certainly have a couple assholic moments. It definitely didn't help my case that the Russian god in question knew me almost as well as the back of his hand, _and _he was chuckling a little.

"Open your eyes," he said, and I could tell he was trying to hide his emotion.

I shook my head in all my stubbornness and kept my eyes shut. I heard him sigh. He was getting impatient and frustrated with me. I almost smiled at that, but I caught myself. One of his hands dropped away from my skin while the other slipped under my chin, angling my head ever so slightly. Then I felt his breath on my face, on my cheek. Oh boy. I was in trouble. I remembered what happened that first morning when I had attacked him and gotten pinned. My eyes were closed then, too.

"Look at me, Roza," he whispered in my ear. When I did as he said with a big pout on my face, he chuckled and met my gaze as he started talking. "Stop looking at me like that. I want the truth. Now tell me what happened."

I couldn't deny him an answer when I was looking him square in the eye, and he knew it - which was why he done it. So I told him everything. I told him how I was so deep in thought that I hadn't been paying attention. I told him I had left my stake up here, in my room. I told him that I barely put up a fight with my attacker once he got me on the ground. I told him how I let the guy carve into my flesh with a knife as I lied there with my eyes closed. Then last of all, I told him about the guy's accent and what he had said to me.

"I should have fought the fucker off," I finished, letting my anger and frustration show. "I just let him do this to me."

"You know you did what you had to do," he said.

"It's called freezing up, Comrade," I snapped.

"It's called Darwinism, Rose," he corrected tiredly. "You know survival of the fittest and all that? It was your instincts taking over. You did what you had to. If you had fought, you could've gotten killed."

"Maybe I should be. Some guardian I am."

"Hey!" he exclaimed. "This wasn't Lissa or Christian's life on the line, Rose. They weren't in danger this time. It was just your life hanging in the balance. Lissa and Christian were perfectly safe. This was all you. The danger was to you, Rose. You didn't screw up. You're alive. You're well. That's all that matters."

"Okay. So what's the carve job say?" I asked.

He paused and looked down at, his eyes taking in my expression. He sighed, grasped my arm just above the elbow, and led me out of my bathroom.

"Throw on a shirt," he said. "If I'm going to tell you what _he _wrote, I'm going to have to explain some things."

I hesitated eyeing him in shock. The way he said 'he' was filled with a vile hatred I had never heard before coming out of his mouth. To be honest, the tone sort of scared me. Eventually I nodded, and tossed on and tank I found lying around. I slipped the shirt on quickly followed Dimitri out of my room and down the hall to his room. As we stop so he could open the door and let me in, I totally freeze. I hadn't known which room he was in until now. It had never really crossed my curiosity, but now I knew exactly which room it was without having to even look. He glanced over at me with concern so I swallowed my pride and just walked in.

When we had moved in and started decorating the rooms, I took this one. It was seriously bad ass. The walls were a dark rainforest. The ceiling was dark green. Then the decor ranged from rainforest-inhabiting animals and randomness. I loved the room, but I didn't know what Dimitri thought of it. I mean did he even know I was technically the designer. I didn't bother asking and merely took a seat on the bed.

"So?" I pressed.

I watched a little impatiently as he grabbed a pen and paper. He scribbled something down on the pad, and then tossed it to me. I stared at it in blank confusion. 'Новая игра, без правил' was what was written on the paper, but it made no sense to me. It looked like the carve job on my stomach, but I still saw it as gibberish. I looked up at Dimitri in confusion. I didn't just want I answers. I needed them.

"It means, 'New game, no rules,'" he said.

"That makes no sense," I said, more confused than before.

"It will in a minute. Just give me a moment."

I nodded and watched him go to his dresser. He pulled out a shoebox from the bottommost drawer and opened it. I watched as he pulled out a heap of what looked like letters. He turned back to me, tossed one of the envelopes at me, and sat down on dark forest green armchair. He told me to open it and sat a little stiffly. I looked at the envelope, which was already opened. I pulled out the letter and opened. It was old and the ink seemed faded but it I could still make out the words easily. It was dated the day before he left me. It read:

_It's been a while, hasn't it, Dimitri? You have quite the girlfriend. I'd hate to see anything happen to her, so I'll give you 48 hours to leave. If you don't leave her by then, the last time you'll see her will be to bury her. This isn't a joke so do NOT piss me off. As it stands, I want to keep her alive as much as I'm sure you do (or at the very least make her death quick and painless). If you tell her about this letter, I'll kill her quick. If you risk returning to her at any time, the same principals apply. If you ignore this letter, she won't be as lucky. I promise you, I will torture her until she begs for death and then do it all over again. _

When I looked up after reading the letter, he tossed the others on my lap. I opened them all and read them one by one. They were much shorter than the first letter but all written by the same person. They weren't technically threats, though. They were more like taunts dated from the week after he left me to the night of my party. The last one was the worst. It went on about how the game had become boring and needed some spice. I looked at Dimitri, wide-eyed. Then my eyes dropped to my stomach to the carve job. It finally made sense now. Everything had changed, and I was fair game. The realization must have shown on my face, because Dimitri got out of his chair and sat next to me. I blinked up at him, and before I even realized what I was doing, my hand connected with the side of his face so hard that his head snapped to the side.

"Why the hell didn't you me?" I asked my voice freakishly calm.

"Did you not read the first letter?" he asked, rubbing his face where I got him. "He would've killed you, Rose."

"Sounds like he wants me dead now!" I exclaimed, a little of my panic breaking through my dead tone. "Who the fuck is he, Dimitri?"

"I don't know who he is," he said, his frustration palpable. "All these years, all these letters, not once has he shown himself. He's right, though. The game has changed. You're not going to die. I'm not being limited by threats anymore. I won't let you die."

In the middle of his little speech, he had sandwiched my face between his hands so that I was looking right at him. I could see the light in his eyes that I knew relatively well. It was the fierce determination that flickered in when his mind was made up on something. Sure he wasn't nearly as crazy as me, but he still had his moments. That was definitely something I had always loved about him. He could calm me down and be the logical one for one minute, and then he could be this fierce god that can kill strigoi like they're nothing more than ants.

"But why did you kiss Tasha?" I asked.

"She found the note that day and was horrified by it," he explained. "She thought that if the guy was watching me and it looked like I didn't care so much for you, maybe he'd leave us alone. The kiss was her idea, but I didn't know you were there. I wouldn't have kissed her if you were there. It hadn't been for your eyes." He paused, and then added. "I'm sorry."

The sense of peace faded almost instantly from me at his apology. A realization that had nothing to do with my imminent demise struck me hard. He hadn't left me just leave me. He hadn't lied to me. He had been protecting me. I had been all wrong, and I treated him like some horrible monster this entire time. Ever since that stupid, awful night, I had been angry with him. It wasn't just his and Tasha's visit. I had insulted and threatened him behind his back and to his face this whole time. I've spend a lot of my time imagining all sorts of different ways to kill him or hurt him. Now, here we are and I know exactly why he left. It wasn't for Tasha. It wasn't because he stopped loving me, and I had been too selfish and booty hurt to realize it. I had treated like so much shit, and frankly I was shocked that he was still there with me.

"I should be saying that," I said. "God I have treated so horribly. You really didn't deserve it. I'm sorry. I'm so sorry."

I was shaking my head and repeating those last three words like a mantra when I felt my throat tighten and my eyes sting. I frowned as I realized I was on the verge of tears. I fight the urge to cry, but Dimitri seemed to notice, because his arms wrapped around me, tight and safe. The events of the night and the stupid guilt that coursed through me were all a lot to handle. I didn't want to cry, certainly not in front of him. Not looking at him helped a lot, so I contented myself with hiding my face in his chest.

"It's alright," he murmured in my ear. "I have never blamed you for being mad at me. I never will. It's alright to hate me."

* * *

**Hey guys. Thanks for all the reviews. I really hope you liked this chapter. A lot of the questions may have been answered but there are still a bit that hasn't and some questions that have yet to come.**


	13. Not Happening

_It's alright to hate me._

Those simple words broke me and tears poured down my face. It wasn't just the stress and knowledge of tonight that did it. It was a build up of stress and pain that I allowed to build up since Dimitri had left me. I hadn't really let myself show any real grief or pain. Instead, I turned it all into anger and took it out on everyone around me. Now, that was changing. The grief was resurfacing, bringing guilt and fear with it. The emotions were strong by themselves, but together they were my downfall just then. So I was sobbing into Dimitri's shirt, because I was a stupid bitch and was probably going to end up getting myself and everyone else killed. Dimitri didn't say a word. He just held me tight and let me make a fool of myself, crying. The tears didn't last all that long really. When I finally stopped crying, I pulled back to look at him.

"I never hated you," I said, my voice surprisingly even. "I just couldn't understand how you could leave me like that. I was mad and confused and so, so hurt, but I never hated you. I wanted to. You have no idea how badly I wished I could, but I just couldn't."

Dimitri didn't say a word. He just looked at me, his brown gaze locked onto mine. I don't know how long we sat there like that, but I was the first one to move. I wrapped my arms around him and hugged him tightly. I would've loved to kiss him, but everything I learned today didn't change one simple fact. He didn't love me anymore, or atleast, he hadn't said he still loved me. I spent three years mending a broken heart, and it couldn't afford another blow. Besides, he wasn't going to stay. He was Tasha's guardian. He would have to leave with her, and we would be back to the beginning.

"What do you say we go find Lissa and the others?" he asked, pulling out of the hug. "I need to tell them everything, and Lissa can heal you."

I would've declined, but he had that damn look on his face that said he wasn't going to give me a choice. I sighed, nodded, and allowed him to lead me out of the room. It took us a bit, but we found the entire group in the little theater room. It was obvious that they had just finished watching some movie. The credits were rolling and Liss was wrapped nice and snugly into Christian's arm. It looked like she was asleep, and as I delved into her head I realized that she wasn't that far from Lala Land. I turned to leave, but Dimitri grasped me by the elbow and cleared his throat loudly, startling Lissa awake. I glared up at him as Lissa, Christian, and Tasha all stared at us.

"She was falling asleep," I hissed angrily only to be ignored.

I didn't want Liss to heal me, not tonight. She could do it later. She was tired and worried. She should have some time to rest. She looked at me for just a minute, though, and instantly got on her feet and came over to me. That look she gave me said I didn't really have a choice. I sighed and lifted my shirt to expose my stomach for her, albeit very grudgingly and reluctantly. She peeled off the bandages and placed her hand over the Russian words. I felt her magic well up and watched as the wounds faded into smooth skin. Soon as she was done and back in Christian's arms, Dimitri went into the second reason for why we were down there.

"I left Rose to protect her from someone who appears to be out to get me," he said. "I couldn't tell her without risking her death so I just left in a way I hoped would help her heal even if it meant she would hate me in the end. He's been playing with me for three years, but I guess tonight he decided to change the rules. Rose is apparently fair game now no matter what I do."

Okay so he opted for the cliff notes version. I didn't say a thing., though. I wasn't really given an opportunity to, because Christian got to his feet and eyed Dimitri with a level stare. I looked between the two and sighed. This was going to be interesting. I could just feel it.

"Couldn't you have stayed and protected her up close?" he asked.

"I didn't know where or who the threat was, Ozera," Dimitri said. "All I had to go on was a letter with no name or address. The guy was illusive. He only sent me letters. I never seen him in person. Tonight was the only real clue I ever got, and that's still not saying much. Rose didn't see her attacker. She just heard a voice with what she_ believes _is Russian."

"Hey!" I exclaimed. "I know a Russian accent when I hear it! I've spent enough time around you to recognize it."

"Rose, an accent means little," he said, sounding tired. "People fake accents all the time. It's not that hard, and as I said before, the guy's been illusive this whole time. He is meticulous in making sure I am given no clues. Even if the guy's Russian, we still don't have anything else to go on. Russia's a big country. Siberia's population alone isn't really a narrowed down search radius."

"Well he got over the wall and through the wards, so he's not human or strigoi," I said, thinking back to the attack. "He was too strong to be a moroi, too well-trained. That leaves dhampir with really good guardian-training. We probably have a rogue guardian. He was definitely male too."

"Well, we still don't know who he is," Dimitri said. "He's targeting you to taunt me."

"Rose, I'm going to tell Angelia to stay here until we find this guy," Lissa said after a moment of silence. "I think you should just lie low for little bit."

"That's a good idea." Dimitri said quickly.

Before I could protest, she brushed past me and hurried out of the room. I glared at Dimitri. The last thing I wanted was to be stuck, doing nothing for god only knew how long. By the emotions bleeding out of Lissa and the look on Dimitri's face, it seemed I would be lucky if I didn't get locked up in a padded room. I sighed loudly and dramatically. Dimitri glanced at me and raised an eyebrow. I huffed and turned my gaze to the ever-cocky Christian Ozera. He was eyeing me with that look of sheer smugness.

"Wait are you saying some idiot thinks he can toy with Rose and _kill _her?" Christian asked suddenly, almost sounding like he was on the verge of laughter.

"Christian," Dimitri said tiredly.

Christian just glanced at him in that smug air of his, but didn't say anything more. Actually, no one said anything for a while. I was too annoyed to say anything that would possibly make sense or come out as something in a normal "inside" voice.

"Rose," Lissa said as soon as she came back into the room. Angelia must have been pretty easy to find and very willing to take my place. "I know you won't like this but please just humor me. Do not do anything reckless or stupid. Do _NOT _go anywhere by yourself. Please."

"Oh come on!" Christian exclaimed. "You know her! She's a psychotic bitch! The guy probably wants to kill himself painfully."

I snickered at Christian's show of faith in me. The 'psychotic bitch' part earned a dark growl from Dimitri, but it didn't offend me at all. Christian was right. It may have been blunt but he was at least being honest. I shot Christian a grateful smile and shot a glare at Dimitri. Of course, it would have been more effective if he had been looking at me. Instead, he was glaring at Christian's aunt. I let my gaze shift to Tasha, curious. She had been completely silent this entire time, but she was glaring right back at Dimitri with her hands on her hips.

"You and Lissa aren't seriously going to try and lock the poor girl up, are you?" she asked suddenly, making me feel a little guilty for treating her so horribly.

"I don't want to lose the only family I have left," Lissa said. Then she turned to her fiancé. "I lost my parents and brother already. I can't lose Rose, too, Christian."

"Rose is a big girl, Liss," he said. "If the guy comes back, Rose will kill him."

"She's a strong, independent woman, Dimka," Tasha said, agreeing whole-heartedly with her nephew. "She's fully capable of defending herself."

"If she wants to go out, she's perfectly free to," Lissa argued. "I would just be happier if she didn't go anywhere _alone_."

"YOU WANT SOMEONE TO BABYSIT ME?" I exploded. "Liss, I'm a guardian. I'm supposed to be protecting you. I can't do that if I'm being babysat."

Lissa didn't say anything, but her emotions were flooding me so words were irrelevant. Dimitri was silent as ever, but I ignored him. Instead, I turned on my heels and walked out of the room with a huff. I was vaguely aware of everyone following me. Again, I ignored them as I entered my room and went straight into the walk-in closet. I went all the way to the back of it and moved aside some of the clothes to reveal the safe in the wall. I took out the entire contents and dropped them on my bed. It was only then that I acknowledged anything else. Sure enough, the whole gang was standing there. Tasha was eyeing my bed curiously. Lissa was frowning at the bed, worrying about what reckless thing I might be about to do. Christian was as smug as ever. And Dimitri, Dimitri was the hardest to read. He was standing there with a blank face, but raised eyebrow.

"What's all that?" he asked after a long drawn out silence.

* * *

**Okay, I have a question. How old was Dimitri when he kicked Daddy Dearest's ass? I can't remember if it was 13 or 14.**


	14. Too Close For Comfort

There was an assortment of weapons in a haphazard pile on my bed. I quickly and efficiently sorted them out. I really didn't have too many, but I had enough for when I needed it. There were a single retractable sword, two SIGs, and a lot of blades. In the blades, I had pretty much a little of everything so long as they were easy to conceal. There were switchblades, pocket knives, push knives, some stilettos, a bag of throwing knives, and a bag of throwing stars. After they were all very organized, I finally turned back to the group with a bright grin. Tasha continued to look at my bed with that same curious expression. The expression received lots of interesting reactions from Dimitri, Lissa, and Christian.

It may be true that strigoi can't die by most of these weapons - except the sword, of course - but they can be slowed down if you're lucky. Besides, staking may kill a strigoi but what of other threats? Shortly after graduation, I had decided that I needed this. Look how correct I was. I wasn't just attacked by a strigoi. I was absolutely positive that the guy had been a dhampir. It was more than just a gut feeling. It was so much more than that. So I would have the upper hand because not many dhampirs relied on anything other than their stakes. Well, some liked to carry a gun or two, but that was again neither here nor there. I just figured it wouldn't hurt to be extra prepared. Threats lurked everywhere. It wasn't just strigoi.

"Rose," Dimitri said, tone a little impatient and pushy. "Explain to us what you're doing. Please."

"Well, Lissa doesn't want me out on my own, right?" I began. "And you probably agree with her." When he didn't deny it, I continued with a sharp nod. "I'll hold a gun and a few blades with me as well as my stake. This way, I'm extra protected without needing a babysitter."

"I don't think you need a babysitter," he said. "I just don't think you need to do this alone either."

"I can take of myself," I hissed, starting to get annoyed.

"No, one said you couldn't," Lissa argued.

"Rose, is it so bad that we want to make sure you're safe?" Dimitri asked.

I shook my head and turned back to the bed. I grabbed most of my blades, including the retractable sword, and went to go put them away. I didn't leave my closet though, even after I shut my safe. I just closed the closet door and slid down to the floor. I didn't want to face them right now. I appreciated the fact that Tasha and Christian seemed to be on my side, but I was too acutely aware that Dimitri and Lissa didn't share the same faith. It hurt but I understood Dimitri's reasoning. I had messed up today and it was only luck that the guy hadn't been looking to kill me. Dimitri didn't want the mistake to repeat and my luck to run out. Lissa didn't know about that. She was just worried, but it didn't matter. I knew and the fact that Dimitri did too made things worse. I had felt like an incompetent screw-up before I told him. Now, the feeling was even worse.

"Rose, are you actually hiding?" Christian said from the other side of the door.

"It's not hiding if you know where I am," I snapped. "I'm busy, and I want everyone out of my room before I hit someone."

I could make out some sighs and a chuckle, but I just stood and started rummaging through my clothes. I wasn't looking for anything in particular. I was just making noise. Eventually, I heard movement from my room and the door opening and closing. I froze and listened. There was nothing. Just a lot of silence rang through the air. I sighed and finally left my closet. I was closing my closet door when I saw movement out of the corner of my eye. I spun to confront whoever it was but I was too slow and they grabbed. I shoved my elbow up trying to connect with their ribs. I wasn't necessarily thinking straight. I kept thinking back to the attack in the yard. It was highly unlikely that I was being attacked, but the logistics just weren't registering with me. I just knew that I couldn't get pinned again. I couldn't be helpless again. It wasn't until the Russian accent rang in my ear, breathless and concerned.

"Easy, Rose," he said, grasping both my wrists in his hands as soon as I froze. "I just didn't want to get hit."

"Asshole," I grumbled. "I told you all to leave. You weren't an exception."

"I know," he conceded, but didn't release me. "You need this, though."

I turned my head to shoot Dimitri a questioning look. His reply was a stupid smirk and a shake of his head. He wasn't going to tell me. Damn him. I glared. He laughed a little, and then released my wrists only to grasp one of my hands. I frowned a little as he led me out of my room. It took me a moment to notice that we were heading toward the basement.

The basement was huge actually. The moment you entered it, you'd hit the gym that I insisted on having. The floor was one huge mat more or less, and in one corner was an area with punching bags and life-size dummies that hung from the ceiling. There were three doors that branched into other rooms. One door was a tiny bathroom. The second door was a break room, full of snacks and beverages. The third door actually led to a tunnel that led off to The Lair. The Lair was actually a tiny apartment that wasn't directly connected to the mansion. It held security computers and housed Zane, because Zane was a techno geek and liked to be alone.

"The Dojo?" I asked Dimitri with a frown.

The Dojo was what I liked to call my little gym. Yes, I realize it wasn't exactly original, but it sounded a hell of a lot better calling it the boring old gym. I mean, come on! _Dojo _had a little ring to it.

"I know you, Rose," he said as if it were the most obvious thing. "Even though there was nothing you could have done differently out there, you going to continue berating yourself. I figured if you got into a fair fight, you might accept the fact there wasn't anything you could really do any differently."

"Wait," I said slowly, trying to wrap my head around his words. "You want me to kick your ass so I can feel better?"

"No," he said, chuckling a little. "I'm letting you _try _to kick my ass so you can feel better."

I grinned brightly at the prospect of beating him up alone. I wasn't really mad or out to hurt him. It just felt right to be sparring with him. I hadn't realized how much I missed our trainings. So I gave him an enthusiastic nod - which got another chuckle out of him - and moved to the center of the room. I crouched low on the defensive and faced Dimitri. He had his guardian mask on as he mimicked my stance. I knew my expression wasn't as blank. I knew very well that my grin was broad and bright. I could actually pretend that we were back at the academy before graduation and everything got ruined.

We circled each other, looking for any sort of opening. Dimitri wasn't giving me one though. I vaguely acknowledged that this might be a long fight, but I refused to dwell on it because Dimitri made the first move. He threw his right fist out and so I had to put all my attention into blocking, but too late, I realized that had been a feint. I didn't see the kick that connected to my stomach. I stumbled back but managed to keep my balance. I steadied myself and threw a roundhouse kick his way. He caught my foot easier than I liked. I used the grip as leverage as I jumped up. I pushed hard against his chest with my free foot, catapulting myself into a back flip and away from him.

It was his turn to stumble back as landed on my feet. I looked up at him and couldn't stop grinning as I noted his surprise. He hadn't known that I could pull that move off. I threw another roundhouse kick at him, hoping to catch him off guard by repeating myself. It didn't work, but instead of grabbing the foot, he whacked it away with the heel of his hand. He had put enough force into the block that I ended up spinning all the way around, putting my back to him. He took advantage of my position and quickly through an arm around my neck. The hold wasn't strong enough to hurt me, but it was certainly enough to make most movement difficult, if not impossible. I shoved my elbow back into his ribs as hard as I could. He let go with a grunt. I ducked low and snaked my leg out, hooking it around both of Dimitri's legs so that he fell backward. I was fast and smooth as I pinned him down.

"I win," I said happily because had not expected to win.

He just laughed and flipped me over. My good mood died the second my back hit the floor. I stiffened as Dimitri straddled me. Once again, I was back outside with my attacker. Dimitri seemed to have anticipated my reaction because before I could start lashing out, he had my arms pinned over my head. I tried to yank my wrists out of his grip. I really hadn't liked feeling so helpless, and that feeling was creeping back into me with Dimitri pinning me as he was. He wouldn't let go though. I couldn't get free and was acutely aware that a hint of fear that danced at the edges of my mind. A small sound rang through the air, in my ears. It sounded strangled and strange. I didn't realize it had come from me until Dimitri spoke.

"Shh," he murmured in my ear. "It's all right. You aren't helpless, even if you're pinned like this. Now, look at me, Rose."

I did as he said, slightly confused. My mind wasn't quite keeping up to speed with what was going on, and it didn't help when Dimitri's free hand came into play. He brushed the back of my fingers against the skin of my cheek before he rested it on my neck. His thumb made tiny circles at the hollow of my throat.

"I'm fine," I said, swallowing convulsively. "I have killed enough strigoi. Today was nothing."

"No," he argued. "Today was not _nothing._ It was something you hadn't been prepared for. Strigoi are evil for intents and purposes. You know that. You grew up to know that, and let's face it, they don't care if you see their faces or not. This, this was different. Not only were you attacked by something other than strigoi but you didn't see your attacker. He wouldn't let you."

The hypnotic motion of his thumb against my throat paired with his calm voice kept me focused on him. It kept me from going back to the attack even though we were talking about it. I was just too aware of Dimitri to really worry about much.

"You don't have to berate yourself," he said.

"I'm no–"

I stopped as his words truly registered. Okay so maybe I was berating myself. I frowned at him. He stared back at me for a moment, like he was waiting for me to finish. When I didn't, he started talking again.

"Talk to me," he said.

"I-I can't help it," I began, trying to form my words carefully and precisely. "I mean, I guess on some level I know that I couldn't do anything but I'm going blind because I never saw his face. He could be anyone, anywhere."

"I know."

"I hate not knowing."

His thumb stopped the circular motion on my throat then and he finally let go of my wrists. I watched as he leaned down, bracing both his hands on the mat at either side of my head. For the first time since his arrival, I felt the air thicken and that strange electrical current zing between us. I just lied there, not sure what to expect. Our eyes locked, but we neither moved nor said a single word. After a moment, and entirely against my will, I reached up and cupped the side of his face with my hand. That seemed to jolt him, and suddenly, his lips were locked to mine.

The kiss was sweet with a minute edge of desperation. I instantly stopped worrying about the world beyond this point. It was just me and Dimitri. Nothing else mattered as our tongues mingled in an erotic dance. It felt so damn good to be back in his arms like this. I didn't want it to end, but then Dimitri broke the kiss for a moment to look at me. It was like I had been thrown into the Arctic Ocean naked. He leaned back down to kiss me again but I pushed him away. I was aware that we had both happily participated in the kiss, so it wasn't really a surprise to see the confusion on Dimitri's face.

"Marco," was all I said before I got to my feet and rushed out of the room.

He didn't stop me or say anything in reply. Maybe there was nothing for him to say. Maybe my escape didn't give him a chance to find a good answer.

I found Lissa in her room. Christian was with her, and they were talking when I barged into the room. This time I ignored his presence entirely as I shut the door. I was vaguely aware of Christian's expression going from happy to annoyed to curious in the matter of seconds. Lissa just looked concerned.

"I kissed him," I said, sounding hysterical even to myself. "We were sparring and we kissed."

The silence after that was deafening.

"_And?_" Lissa pushed after the silence started to irritate her.

"I remembered Marco and that I was dating him," I admitted. "Then, I kind of ran."

"That's not what I meant, Rose," Liss said and through the bond I realized what she wanted.

She wanted to know my reaction to the kiss. That was the part I didn't want to touch with a thirty foot pole. To admit it would make everything that much more complicated. I really didn't want complication in my already-complicated life.

"I don't know," I said. "I hadn't realized I missed it, but nothings going to happen, Liss. I'm dating Marco. I like Marco."

"You technically cheated on Marco," Christian piped up.

"Oh, shut up, Fire Crotch!" I snapped. "_Dimitri _kissed me."

"_You _obviously kissed him back."

I let out a frustrated scream and launched at him. I didn't want to hurt him _too _badly. I just wanted to punch him in the jaw just once. Liss wouldn't let me. She threatened to get Dimitri to drag me out if I didn't go on my own. I left very quickly after that.

* * *

**Thank you for your answers and reviews guys. They were very appreciated. **


	15. Deception

**Third Person POV**

Mystic was an elite club just down the street from Poison Ivy. It didn't cater to humans though. No, this club was strictly a Moroi-only environment. So when a dhampir flashed a membership card to the guardian at the door. The guardian did a double take. When the dhampir asked to be taken to the Mr. Krupin's office, the guardian nearly choked. Nonetheless, after a quick call to make sure the kid was allowed in the boss's office, the guardian led the dhampir to the room in the far back of the club. The mysterious dhampir followed and when asked to hang his long coat, he politely declined. The black leather trench coat had a huge hood that obscured the man's features perfectly, and he wasn't willing to lose the cover.

"Enter," Mr. Krupin's crisp voice boomed from the inside and soon as the the dhampir walked in and the guardian left, Krupin got straight to business. "What have you done, Yulian?"

Oh, yes Mr. Krupin was pissed. He may not have the title of Prince or whatever, but Mr. Krupin was very well known. His elite clubs were international and very popular among the royals. He also had a lethal reputation.

"Easy, Z," Yulian said tiredly. "I just played with the bitch is all. You're the one who said the bitch is the key to the bastard."

"YES, BUT HE HAS TO HAVE HER FIRST!" Krupin exploded.

"Hey, you wanted her out of the picture in the first place."

Krupin stood up slowly and glared at the much younger man. The dhampir instantly collapsed in agonizing pain for a time. It was a struggle for Yulian not to scream out, but the pain stopped as soon as it had started.

"That was merely an experiment you _idiot_," Krupin hissed as Yulian recovered from the attack. "It proved that what went on between them wasn't just a mere fling. Attack the girl again and I will kill you. Is that understood?"

"Yes, sir," Yulian sneered. "Anything else you'd like to go over?"

"Yeah, keep an eye on them," Krupin said. "And make sure you aren't recognized!"

Yulian gave a sharp nod before leaving walking out of the moroi's office. He didn't dawdle there. He just left the club as quickly as possible. Thankfully, he was used to the old fart's temper. It didn't faze him much, but as always, he was thinking up ways to make sure nothing went wrong. The last thing he wanted was to die. Still, he couldn't supress the grin as he thought of the plan. He never thought going undercover would be so amusing. All he had to do was stay close but make sure he didn't screw up. This whole scheme relied on three years of hard work and planning. His mind reeled with that knowledge as he headed back to the mansion compound. He needed to get back and keep an eye on the group.

**Rose's POV**

I avoided Dimitri as if my life depended on it. I was avoiding Christian too. The ass wouldn't stop teasing me about running. Okay, I admit that running away like I did was a coward's play, but I just wasn't ready to admit I still loved Dimitri. The kiss had jarred me and warped the way I saw things. I thought I had gotten Dimitri out of my system, but it turns out I was deadly wrong.

It was three in the morning, but the entire house was quite. Lissa and Christian were getting cozy in their room. Tasha was doing her own. Angelia was taking my rounds. Zane was still nowhere to be found. As for Dimitri, well I hadn't seen him since the kiss. I went down to the Dojo. I wasn't particularly thrilled about going down but I had to let out some steam. So promptly headed to the punching bag and went to work on it even while I berated myself.

_You're an idiot._

Punch.

_A coward. _

Punch.

_You still love him so why fight it?_

Punch. Punch. Punch. I lost it then. I just wanted to stop thinking for a little bit. This wasn't fair. It wasn't just Dimitri in question here. I knew Marco liked me. He was an awesome guy, and we'd been dating. Christian was right as much as I hated to admit it. I technically cheated on Marco. To say I was confused was quite an understatement.

"You know, the bag isn't a strigoi and if you keep going at it like that you're bound to pull something," a voice interrupted me.

I spun around to find Zane at the bottom of the stairs. It was then that I noticed how hard I was breathing. I sighed and went to the break room, snatching a Gatorade out of the fridge.

"Where the hell have you been, Novak?" I shot, still annoyed at his odd absence.

"What do you mean?" he asked, poking his head into the room to raise an eyebrow at me. "I've been on my rounds and checking the surveillance cameras on occasion."

"Well you did a sucky job because we had a breach," I snapped. "I got attacked and you obviously weren't on your rounds then."

Zane sneered at me as he entered the room to close the distance between us. Anger and fury oozed out of him. I tensed a little. We may be partners, but I couldn't I truly trusted the man. He didn't have the best control of his temper, and we got along almost as well as Christian and I.

* * *

**This one is short, kind of a filler really. Let me know what you think!**


	16. Absolutely Nothing

"I'm not in the mood for your attitude, Hathaway," Zane sneered.

I stood there and glared at him. We could work together just fine. It was times like these, when it was just us two, that we clashed. His anger management was worse than mine. He was a force to be reckoned with, and I trusted him to a point. I couldn't really say I trusted him with my life though, which was why I was on his case right now.

"Too damn bad, Novak," I said. "You were obviously slacking, because I got attacked."

"It's not my fault that you fucked up," he hissed. "I'm not your babysitter."

"It _is _your fault if they got on the grounds on _your _watch. If you were doing your job and not sla-"

His hand suddenly shot out at me and I grabbed it in a vice grip. There was no way we were going down that road tonight. I did not like having to come up with an excuse for why Zane was walking around with a black eye and broken nose. Zane looked as if he was ready to throw the other fist at me. I wasn't worried. I would've caught that one too.

"It's time for dinner," a voice rang loud and clear.

I glared at Zane for a moment longer before I pushed past him and headed for the stairs where Dimitri was standing. He was looking from me to the break room. I briefly wondered how much of that he saw. He had a pretty good view inside the room from the step he was standing on, but his guardian mask was up and nothing was being given away. Zane let out a grunt and I watched as he left us. I let out a sigh and hurried past Dimitri. I still wanted to avoid him. Apparently, the fates were against me, because he snatched my arm and pulled me to a stop.

"What was that all about?" he asked against my ear.

"What do you mean?" I retorted, keeping my back to him so I didn't have to look at him.

"You and Zane," he clarified simply.

"Nothing," I said. "He was just being an ass. Can we go up to eat now? I want to get some food in me so I can take a nap and a shower so that I'm fresh for my late-night date with Marco."

That might have been a tad bit harsh, but he did release me after that. He also didn't speak to me at all on the way to the dining room. The tension between us was so tangible that everyone noticed. Christian looked smug as hell and I wanted so badly to punch him again. Tasha kept shooting curious and concerned glances between Dimitri and me. Lissa was confused and a little worried. I just tried to focus on dinner. Soon as I finished eating, I excused myself and left.

...

It was noon and the sun was out and bright. It was warm, too. Then again Florida was like that. It was rarely ever cold. It was why I insisted for Lissa to set a permanent home here for when she didn't have to be at Court. The beach was quiet though. It was just Marco and me and a small number of other people. We were sitting on an old blanket that I'd taken with me from the house. I let my bare feet rest in the smooth sand, sifting through the grains with my toes.

"Enjoying yourself?" Marco asked after a while.

"Very much so," I said, turning my head to grin at him.

"Good."

"I don't know how long its been since the last time I was on a beach," I said, almost in awe. "Well, during the day."

Marco laughed at that and surprised me by getting to his feet and pulling me to mine. Before I could ask, he was dragging me to the water. I laughed a little and tried to pull out of his grip. He wouldn't let me. In fact, he didn't let me go until the water reached my shoulders. I shook my head and splashed some water in his face. He retaliated by dunking me under. The water was freezing, but I didn't mind as I stayed under long enough to grab his leg and pull him under. We had a little war after that. Both of us tried to get the other under and then some. When we got tired of swimming, we hurried back to our blanket to eat. I had stolen most of Christian's doughnuts and the chocolate sauce for the date. He wouldn't miss them, and they were too delicious to pass up.

"So what's with the bodyguards?" he asked, nodding his head over my shoulder. "I thought you were a dhampir."

I ignored the tease as I looked over at Zane and Angelia. I didn't tell anyone where I was going or when I'd be back but I had decided to take the two with me to keep Liss from stroking out. They were babysitting me, but atleast, they were giving Marco and me as much privacy as they possibly could. I smirked as I noted how bored Zane looked. That was actually kind of funny.

"I had a bit of an altercation with someone and Lissa's worried about me," I said, shrugging.

He nodded and we fell silent for a while. We finished eating. Then we started walking the beach. I would stop every once in a while and pick up a seashell or two. We stayed there until it started getting dark, just goofing off. It was Angelia who ruined the, saying we should be going. I agreed only because I could feel Lissa through the bond. She was starting to get worried. So we went home. Zane was surprisingly quiet the entire time, which I milked for all it was worth.

Angelia had insisted that we take the SUV so we ended up picking Marco up. That meant we had to drop him off. As Zane parked outside Marco's house, Marco kissed me full on the lips. I kissed him back, but something nagged me in the back of my mind. Though he was a good kisser, it was nothing like Dimitri's. I didn't feel that spark that I always felt when touching Dimitri. In fact, I felt absolutely nothing. We broke apart and said our farewells. He promised to call me. I nodded blankly. As we were driving off again I turned to Angelia.

"I'm sorry you had to babysit me tonight," I said.

"It was no problem," she assured me. "You are no good to Vasilisa dead and she's useless if she's too busy worrying about you. You're a good guardian."

I fell silent, not sure what to make of that. Zane was still silent. I didn't bother to change that, but I really didn't mind. As soon as I got into the house, I was attacked by Lissa in tackle that nearly brought me to the floor. I chuckled and swiftly assured her I was fine but very tired. I wanted to sleep. It was true too. I was up for far too long. She reluctantly left me alone and I went to my room. I walked into my room and shut the door behind me only to freeze in my tracks. It was dark, but I could make out the silhouette of a figure sitting on my bed. I would have screamed, but he moved quickly and turned on the lamp - one that I replaced from the broken one - at my bedside table. I relaxed as soon as I recognized Dimitri, but he did _not_ look happy. This was going to be fun.


	17. Sweet Dreams

"What are you doing in my room?" I asked.

Dimitri didn't say a thing. He just stood up and made his way toward me. He stopped just a little over a foot away, but it was enough for the lamplight to be blocked off considerably. It made his features much harder to read. I stood there tense and ready for a lecture. I actually had an idea about what he was going to say though. When the silence rang out for moment longer than I expected, I spoke for him.

"Let me guess," I said, adopting a bored tone. Then I shifted the tone to the best impersonation of Dimitri I could — even going as far as attempting the Russian accent. "'Rose, what on Earth was going through that thick skull of yours? You're a guardian! You should _not _be gallivanting about at ungodly hours of the night. It might very well be a day off for you, but you still have your reputation to uphold.'" I went back to my normal voice. "Well, Comrade, I spent most of the day at the beach having hot and wild sex with every guy I could get my hands on. Marco enjoyed every min–"

"Rose," he interrupted, tone warning that I was on the verge of crossing the line.

"'Rose, stop acting like a seventeen year-old brat,'" I mimicked again, earning a sigh of frustration from him.

"I do _not _sound like that," he said, very much annoyed with me.

"Are you sure about that?" I said, flashing my man-eater grin at him.

"Yes, your fake accent sucks," he said solemnly, but I could tell he wasn't as angry with me anymore.

"Too bad," I said. "It might have been better three years ago. I was around you more. Maybe I would've pulled it off better."

"I doubt it," he said honestly, but there was definitely amusement in his tone.

I grinned up at him. Well I did up until he closed the distance between us. I actually backed up into my closed door. Sure, I had heard amusement in his tone, but that didn't mean I knew what to expect. Normally, he'd be throwing some Zen life lessons crap at me by now, but he wasn't doing it. That confused me. I had no idea what he was about to say or do. He leaned over me, bracing his arm on the door as he bent his head down to mine.

"This isn't about your reputation or job, Rose," he said in my ear. "This is about your _life_."

His words were just barely above a whisper. His tone was rife with emotion. He wasn't hiding much. Even though his face was masked by dark shadows, I knew the mask was gone. I swallowed and pressed myself against the door a little more. I didn't particularly enjoy the guilt welling up in me because I could hear the concern and relief coming from him. It was also kinda hard to concentrate on excuses when he was so close to me.

"I was careful," I said after a moment. "I didn't go alone and we went to the beach. It was broad daylight, Dimitri."

"Daylight doesn't mean anything when you aren't facing a strigoi," he argued pointedly. "Besides, it's not like you were only gone an hour or two, Rose. We're talking gone until sundown. And I would love to know how you could conceal a stake in your bikini."

I could practically feel his eyes as they trailed a scorching line over my body. He was right about that. I was wearing an all black bikini, which was just a tad bit on the skimpy side, and I was only wearing a pair of shorts that I had slipped on to go to and from the car, the beach, and the house. Needless to say, hiding a _pocket knife_ would be impossible. A stake would stand out like a sore thumb.

"I wasn't alone, Dimitri," I said. "I was extra careful. I was with Marco and I took Angelia and Zane with me. The only problem was that I lost track of time, but I'm okay. Nothing happened."

"You were lucky," he said darkly.

I sighed as I noted he was getting worked up again. If I didn't nip the conversation in the butt, I knew we'd be yelling at each other. I did not relish that idea. I was too tired to want to fight, so I did the one thing I knew would shut him up for a while. Or well, I hoped it would at least. I grabbed his face between my hands and crashed my lips to his. He reacted exactly how I thought he would, kissing back. My whole world crashed and shifted and Marco didn't even cross my mind as Dimitri buried a right hand in my hair and snaked his left around my waist to grip my hip and pull me close. The only thing I was aware of was my own little world that just consisted of my bedroom, Dimitri, and myself.

"What was that for?" he asked as we pulled apart.

I doubt he really wanted an answer, because a second later he was trailing kisses over my neck and shoulder. I was over caring, over worrying , about self-preservation and whether I was willing to risk another heartbreak. For the moment, I wanted this. I wanted Dimitri. I didn't care what happened after tonight, but I needed this. I needed _him_. I pulled his head up and planted another kiss on his lips. The difference between kissing Marco and kissing Dimitri was Earth-shattering. Where there was nothing with Marco, that didn't hold true with Dimitri.

My entire world seemed to explode just by the simplest of touches from him. It was actually kind of sad that I had refused to acknowledge any of it until that moment. My hand slipped under his shirt so I could trail designs over the skin of his stomach. He responded by deepening our kiss and shifting his hands to my hips. I let my hand drop as he lifted me up so could wrap it around his neck with the other even as my legs wrapped around his waist instinctively. I heard him chuckling a little and he moved us to my bed, lying me down gently. To my utter disappointment, he pulled away and didn't join me.

"Don't look at me like that," he said, humor dancing in his brown eyes. "You only had maybe three hours of sleep if that and you've been out all day. I don't care what you say. You have to be exhausted."

"That was probably true a half hour ago," I acknowledge.

"And now?" he asked, hovering over me.

"I'm wide awake," I said honestly, well as honestly as I could.

"Oh really?" he challenged, his amusement thick in his voice and features.

I nodded enthusiastically, earning a laugh from him. He was actually a little right. I was tired, but I wanted him. At the moment, reality was far behind me. I really didn't want to go back to my problems right now. I needed the distraction, but mostly, I just needed Dimitri.

"Rose, please don't fight me on this," he said after a moment, pulling away from me.

I was about to call him back when I realized he wasn't leaving. He was actually going into my closet. I watched his every move, vaguely acknowledging that I really was tired, but I still wanted Dimitri more. I didn't want to sleep. There was a real reason why I hadn't slept more than three hours. Despite Dimitri's help to get me to deal with my screw up. I wasn't really dealing. It still bugged the shit out of me. It was why I had stayed out as long as possibly could. I mean who truly wanted to relive their greatest failures. I sure as heck didn't. Dimitri returned to my bed very shortly, tossing one of my nightgowns at me just as yawned. He gave me an _I-told-ya-so_ look, so I sighed and got to my feet.

"Stay?" I asked him, a little uncertain.

I knew we both had been more than ready to screw each other's brains out a moment ago, but I didn't know how the request would be taken by him. He stood there looking at me for such a long time that I had been positive he would tell me no. In the end, he nodded and lightly pushed me toward the bathroom. I thought I heard him mutter something along the lines of if I didn't get changed I wouldn't be able to sleep at all. I couldn't be sure if that was really what he said, but it made me smile as I headed to the bathroom.

I brushed my teeth and quickly changed into my nightgown. It was mostly silk, but it had lace around the edges and the spaghetti straps were almost like velvet. It was solid red and was well above my knee. Liss had insisted on buying it for me as a Christmas present. I forgot to put it up because I had planned on trying it on but never got the chance. It had been hanging on my door hanger ever since. It still had the tag on too. Sighing, I ripped the tag off and left the bathroom to find Dimitri sitting at my desk. He looked up and I swear almost choked. He had _not _looked at the details of the nightgown apparently.

"See something you like?" I asked when it became obviously he was checking me out and didn't look to bothered about it.

"Mmm, I wouldn't use the word _like,_" he said, scrunching his nose a little.

I would've thought he was actually disgusted if I didn't catch that damn twinkle in his eyes that said he was finding the situation amusing. I walked over to him and punched his arm. I didn't hit him hard at all, just enough to show him _I _wasn't amused. He just laughed at me, got to his feet, and ushered me to my bed. I lied down happily, but I snatched his wrist as he turned to leave. I really couldn't bare the thought of being alone right now. He stopped in his tracks and turned back to look at her.

"I was serious," I said. "I want you to stay with me."

He studied my face for a moment, and whatever he saw there made him decide. He nodded silently, covered me with the blanket, and laid down behind me. He stayed above the covers, though. I didn't particularly like that, but he wrapped his arm securely around me and kissed my temple. I couldn't help but grin at that. I could pretend everything was absolutely perfect. No one wanted me dead, and Dimitri was mine.

"This guy really wants me dead, doesn't he?" I asked.

"He wants me to suffer," he replied, not really answering my question. "Sleep, Roza."

I wanted to sleep. I really did, but it just wasn't that easy. Dimitri seemed to realize as much, because he tightened his hold on me and started singing softly in my ear. He had reverted to Russian so I had no idea what he was singing, but it sounded like a lullaby. Needless to say, it calmed me down enough for sleep to take hold of me. Before I knew it, I was asleep in his arms.

I didn't sleep long at all, maybe no more than a few hours. It was only about nine, but I was pretty wide awake surprisingly. Dimitri had left at some point when I had been asleep. I didn't particularly enjoy waking up alone but I quickly changed into a pair of jeans and a t-shirt before making my way downstairs. I found the house surprisingly empty as I headed down to the kitchen only to find that the house wasn't entirely empty. In the kitchen stood Zane, drinking a cup of coffee and reading something at the counter. I ignored him and promptly made myself some tea.

"Where is everyone?" I asked, breaking the silence after a while.

"Shopping," Zane replied, finally acknowledging me. "They didn't want to wake you up so they had me babysit."

I rolled my eyes and went through the fridge, looking for something to eat. I was very away that the last time I actually had a meal was the Taco Bell before I was attacked. I hadn't eaten since then aside from the few little doughnuts on the beach. To my delight, I found a few slices of Christian's homemade pizza. I quickly heated them up. When the pizza was nice and hot, I took my plate and cup of tea out to the dining room. I really didn't want to spend any more time with Zane than I absolutely had to. Zane apparently felt the same, because he left me alone.

I used the privacy to enjoy my food and think about last night. I wasn't what was exactly going on between Dimitri and me. I didn't regret what happened last night, though. I probably should've because of Marco. I didn't, though. I had to figure out what to do between the two. I pushed the thoughts away. I didn't have to worry about it all right now. It could wait a few hours. Right?

* * *

**I hope you guys like this chapter. We got some Dimitri/Rose attraction going on. So I'm thinking of making a sequel when I finish this story (which isn't for a while yet) but if I do I want Rose to have a daughter (the sequel will most likely be mainly about the daughter). Please, keep in mind that this doesn't necessarily mean Dimitri will end up being the biological daddy. It depends on my mood and how the WDYTYA ends. Now, what I want to know is if you guys would be interested in something like that? Let me know. **


	18. Lethal Surprise

I was extremely grateful when Zane didn't bother me most of the day. He occasionally came up from The Lair to check on me. At those times, he had his cell phone glued to his ears. I figured Dimitri or Lissi were running up his phone bill. I mean they could just call me, but I think they were afraid I'd lie if something bad happened. I probably would so I didn't complain. I was, however, very happy when Dimitri walked into the living at about eleven. Seriously, two hours with nothing but Zane's silent, but annoying, company was enough to make me want to rip out all of my hair. Not to mention, I wasn't feel so great. To my chagrin, Dimitri seemed to realize something was off right away as he sat down next to me.

"Are you okay?" he asked.

"Where's Lissa and everyone else?" I asked back, ignoring his question.

"Tasha's around," he said. "Lissa and Christian wanted a little time to themselves so I left them to Angelia to guard and brought Tasha back here. What's wrong?"

"Why does something have to be wrong?" I deflected.

"Rose, something's wrong if you're trying to change the subject instead of answering me," he said. "Now tell me."

"Nothing's wrong," I assured. "I'm not feeling good. It's just a headache, Comrade."

"Do you need anything?" he asked, the concern obvious on his face and in his voice.

I shook my head and curled up. To be entirely honest, it wasn't just a headache. My stomach hurt too and I was starting to feel nauseous. Dimitri must have known I was downplaying it, because the concern didn't leave his face and he wouldn't leave my side. I didn't complain, though. I just simply went with it, especially when he wrapped his arms around me and let me snuggle into him. It was a simple action, but it was one that I took great comfort in. I had seriously missed this. Sadly, I couldn't actually enjoy the contact for long before the nausea became impossible to ignore.

Without a word, I shot off the couch and darted off to the nearest bathroom. I made it to the toilet just in time to lose my lunch without spewing it all over the carpet. I was vaguely aware of someone coming up behind me, rubbing my back, and holding my hair so it wasn't in my way. It wasn't until I heard Russian words sweetly in my ears that I actually realized that it was Dimitri with me. I couldn't really acknowledge him, though. Between the retching and groaning, I didn't really get any time to actually say anything. I did wish he hadn't followed me though. I was definitely not winning any beauty contests at the moment.

"I think I just died several times," I groaned when it became apparent that I had nothing left to throw up and just had to suffer the dry heaves since my gag reflex seemed to have it out for me.

I tried to get to my feet, but as soon as I stood, the world spun so badly that I lost my footing and fell. If Dimitri hadn't been standing right there, I would have hit the floor hard. As it was, the dizziness just increased and had to lean solidly against Dimitri to keep from falling. He picked me up and carried me out of the bathroom. I didn't know where he was taking me, didn't really care. I just closed my eyes and buried my face in his chest. I didn't open my eyes until my back hit my mattress and his arms disappeared. He was standing over me, looking at me with deep concern etched across his features. He laid his hand over my forehead for a moment and swore loudly in Russian before dropping the hand to his side.

"This isn't a simple headache, Rose," he said. "You're burning up."

"I didn't feel this bad earlier," I said. "My head feels like it's been cleaved in two. My stomach feels like a thousand knives have taken root happily. I feel like throwing up again. I don't remember ever being this sick, Dimitri. It seriously sucks."

"I'm going to get you some Alka-Seltzer and water," he said. "Will you be all right?"

"I'm not going anywhere, Comrade," I assured him.

He nodded and left my room after placing my wastepaper basket beside my bed. I closed my eyes and curled in on myself. I couldn't really remember ever feeling quite this bad. I mean, I hadn't been feeling all that great sure, but that _not-so-great _feeling accelerated rapidly from a simple headache and stomachache. I tried to sleep. If I ended up crashing, Dimitri would wake me up to give me the Alka-Seltzer and water when he came back up. I vaguely heard my door open and close, but I paid no mind to it when Dimitri didn't say anything. Maybe he hadn't been able to find the medicine. I didn't really mind.

It wasn't until I felt hands go around my throat that I finally opened my eyes. It wasn't Dimitri hovering over me. It was Zane and his grip around my throat tightened, constricting airflow. I tried to get him off me. I shoved. I hit. I clawed. I squirmed. I was weak, though, so very tired. I couldn't fight him off. I didn't give up. I just kept trying to pry his hands off me. Why was it that every single time I was attacked I was the one with the disadvantages. First, I hadn't been paying attention. Now, I was too sick to do anything more than breathe. I couldn't even do that thanks to Zane strangling me as if his life depended on it. I didn't stop fighting even though it was futile. I still tried to pry his hands off my throat.

"Rose?" Dimitri's voice rang through the air from outside the door. "Are you okay? Unlock the door."

I couldn't answer him, and Zane ignored him as he leaned down to whisper in my ear.

"You really shouldn't have let your tea out of your sight."

I blinked as I felt my consciousness slipping away. I put one hand to his face and started pushing his head away. Then, with my other hand, I fumbled around under my pillow. It took a moment to find the switchblade I had been keeping there, but I finally did.

"ROSE, OPEN THE DOOR OR I'M BUSTING IT DOWN!"

I pulled the knife out, hit the switch, and stabbed Zane. I didn't know if where I hit was lethal or if it just hurt him like hell, because I passed out. When I woke up, I wasn't in my room and didn't know where I was. It actually took me a moment to realize I was in the guest room that Dimitri had taken up. I was alone, though. He wasn't there. I was so confused about why I was there. I was too exhausted to really put in the energy to figure it out so I just lied there, staring blankly at the ceiling until I heard the door open. I looked to find Dimitri walking in with a bowl and a glass of water.

"You're awake," he said and I could hear the relief in his tone easily.

"What happened?" I asked, trying to sit up. "And why is my voice so crackly?"

He came over to me, set the bowl and glass on the night stand, and lightly pushed me back down. He sat down on the edge of the bed and seemed to regard me carefully. It was as if he were considering how to answer or how much to say.

"How much do you remember?" he asked after a moment.

I shook my head and forced myself to think back. I remembered falling asleep in my room in Dimitri's arms. I remembered waking up to find him gone. I was left alone with Zane. I started feeling sick after I a while and it got worse when Dimitri had gotten home. I could remember him staying with me when I was getting friendly with the toilet. After that, things sort of blurred together. I had been seriously out of it by then. I did recall Zane in my room and then the sensation of suffocating.

"Zane was in my room," I said, rubbing throat with a frown. It was so sore, making talking difficult and annoying. "I couldn't breathe, but I was so dizzy and tired already that I don't remember why he was there or why I felt like that." I bit my lip as I vaguely recalled an even more odd detail. "Did I stab him?"

"You did," he said. "He was trying to kill you. When I left you, he came into your room. He locked the door to keep me out so he could strangle you without a fight. You pulled a switchblade out and got him pretty good. By the time, I got inside, he was bleeding pretty bad. He was also pretty unhinged going on about how he hoped you died from something. He passed out from blood loss after that."

"Did I kill him?" I asked, frowning a little. I had killed plenty of strigoi but I had never killed anything else let alone another dhampir.

"No, you just made him bleed out a lot," he said, darkly. "He's currently unconscious, on his way to Court. Tasha wouldn't let me kill him. You have no idea how badly I wanted to, but she told me to worry about you and so I didn't argue. You were so still that I really thought you were dead at first. The second I touched you to check your pulsed you moved. I cleaned you up and brought you in here. When Lissa and Christian came back, Lissa wanted to heal you, but she was actually pretty tired and Christian wouldn't let her heal you. She's promised to heal you soon as she woke up, but I wanted you to rest a while. I told her I'd let her in when you woke up. You've been for about twenty-four hours and she's been getting antsy. I probably should get her so she could heal you and stop worrying."

I nodded and watched him get to his feet and leave. I frowned and curled up into a tight ball. My head and stomach definitely still hurt. I wasn't nauseous anymore, though. I was just in pain and discomfort. I was very happy when Dimitri returned with Lissa right behind. She didn't say a word as she came over to the bed and touched me. I closed my eyes and relished in the hot and cold sensation of being healed. When she was done, I instantly felt a thousand times better. Still, I sat up slowly. I wasn't really in any hurry and I figured I should still take it easy. My eyes fell on the bowl that was once again in Dimitri's hand.

"What's that?" I asked.

"Rocky road ice cream," he replied with a small smile. "You want it?"

I nodded eagerly, earning a laugh from both of them as he handed me the bowl.

"Are you okay, now?" Lissa asked, her concern loud and clear. "I was so worried about you. I wanted to heal you right away but _they _wouldn't let me."

As she said _they_, she shot a glare at Dimitri. It made me smile as I ate my ice cream. Dimitri didn't say anything. He merely shrugged before shooting me a smile. He knew I wouldn't have been happy if she hadn't waited at least a little while, especially knowing she was probably just as tired as me if she had spent most of the day out with Christian. She left after she was positive that I was fine. Dimitri slipped onto the bed beside me and wrapped an arm tightly around me. I sunk into his chest as I finished the rocky road.

"You have no idea how glad I am that you're all right," he whispered in my ear before kissing my cheek.

"I think I can guess," I said, setting the empty bowl down on the night stand. "You think he was the one threatening you?"

"It looks that way," he acknowledged.

"So it's over?" I pressed.

"I hope so," he replied, but I could tell that he wasn't willing to just let it all go. "However, knowing our luck? Who the hell knows."

I laughed at that. He had a point. I didn't like it, but it was true. Even when our relationship had been more existent, it had been full of obstacles. If Zane was Dimitri's psycho, that would mean everything was put to an end quite fast. The thought was stuck on repeat in my head, something telling me this was far too easy. Dimitri's arms snaked around my waist as he kissed my lips softly. He then said something in my ear. It was Russian, but the tone was the sweetest I ever heard.

"What did you just say?" I asked him curiously.

"I said 'I wish I never left you.' I should have at least told you everything even. You have no idea how much it pisses me off to think of you not only working with the asshole but _living _with him."

"What's done is done," I said, kissing his lips softly, wrapping my arms around him in a tight embrace.

* * *

**I hope you all like. **


	19. Not What I Wanted to Hear

"Marco, I'm glad you called," I said soon as I recognized his voice.

It had been a little over a week since we had talked. Since the fiasco with Zane poisoning me and trying to kill me, everyone in the house had seemed to come to the agreement that should be on house arrest for a while. Apparently, I had been through to much and didn't need any contact from the outside world. I obliged for a while but I just couldn't take it after Marco called for the fiftieth time in the span of an hour. The week had been boring, but also a learning process. So fed up, I wrestled Dimitri for the phone the last time Marco called. I needed to talk to the guy. He deserved to hear what I had just realized.

"Oh really?" he said, amused. "I heard you've been pretty sick. Are you feeling better?"

"Yes, very much," I assured him. "Marco, listen. I've been doing a _lot _of thinking, and I really don't think this is working. You're a great guy, but I just can't really picture you as anything more than a really good friend."

"No problem, sweeting," he said. "It's that other guardian that's staying with you? What's his name. . . . Dimitri, right?"

I didn't bother answering him even though he was right. My feelings for Dimitri were something I still had trouble talking about. I hadn't even voiced all of them to Dimitri. I would eventually. I just had to figure out how to word everything. I wanted him, needed him, but there was still a small part of me that was worried he would break my heart again. It was a very small part, though.

"Goodbye, Marco," I said kindly, hanging up without waiting for his reply.

"What was that all about?" a voice said, startling me.

I spun around to find Dimitri standing in the kitchen. He was looking right at me with a curious expression. His arms were crossed, and I had the feeling he wanted to know for more than just curiosity's sake.

"Must you scare me?" I shot at him, slightly agitated. "Don't you ever make any noise?"

"No," he said with a grin.

"I'm going to sew little bells in all your clothes," I threatened.

"Good luck with that."

My eyes narrowed as he laughed at the mere thought. Oh that was so cruel. He was forgetting something, though. I was still sleeping in his room. I was still too angry about what Zane had done to be able to get any form of rest in that room. Not to mention, I felt safe with Dimitri. Anyway, the point is that I had full access to his wardrobe. I think he realized that too, because his eyes widened for a second before narrowing. I shot him a small, innocent smile before darting past him and out of the kitchen. I could hear him snarling my name as I made my way into the little den. To my utter surprise, Dimitri didn't try to stop me. He didn't even follow me. Brushing off the thought of how odd that thought was, I rummaged through the drawers of one of the tables until I found the little silver bells that Lissa had bought ages ago but never used. Laughing mischievously, I ran off to Dimitri's room.

One would think if I hadn't been stopped downstairs that I wouldn't have to worry about being stopped when my impish plot was so very close to be completed successfully. That was far from the case as I collided into a wall of Russian muscle. It didn't stop there, because Dimitri took my surprise to his advantage and snatched the bag of bells out of my hand. I instantly, tried to snatch them back but he kept them out of my reach, holding it way over his head. I huffed and jumped up as I high as i could, just missing it.

"You're cruel," I said.

"If I'm so bad, you can go and sleep in your room," he retorted, but he was smiling with amusement so I knew he wasn't as serious as he was trying to appear to be.

I just glared at him. He just laughed which just made me narrow my eyes at him. Smirking at me, he pushed the door open and backed into his room. By the time I realized what he was up to, he was already opening the door and tossing the bag of bells out onto the lawn. I was at his side just as he shut the window.

"You know, those were Lissa's," I said.

"And you didn't have an issue with using them to decorate my wardrobe, but you have a problem with me tossing them out?" he said.

His eyes were dancing with humor even though the rest of his face and his voice exhibited nothing emotional. I couldn't say I was surprised. On the contrary, i was used to this reaction.

"Well, _I _wasn't wasting her money," I said.

"They're in a plastic Ziploc bag, Rose," he said. "They're also in the grass and no one's going to be cutting the grass for another few days. They're not being wasted. They're just staying far away from my room."

"Fun-vampire," I huffed.

"Fun-vampire?" he asked, eyebrow raised.

"You're sucking the fun out of life," I quipped, forcing a yawn. "You're so _boring."_

His eye-brow remained raised for a moment before he reached out to touch me. I let out a squeak and quickly leapt out of his reach. That went on for a little bit. He grabbed for me. I dodged. Then suddenly the bed slowed my escape. So I started to climb over it, hoping to put it between me and Dimitri. It was very wishful thinking, because I barely moved an inch before he caught me. I don't know what I had expected, but out of nowhere he was tickling me. He got me laughing so hard that my sides burned and tears ran down my face as I squirmed and tried to get out of his hold. He wouldn't let me.

"Stop! It!" I managed to get out around my fit of laughter.

"Am I still boring you?" he asked and I could hear the amusement in voice. He was enjoying himself as he tickled me to death.

No longer able to get enough air to speak, I simply shook my head. Yes, I was surrendering, but I didn't get air some way and if I didn't let him win who knew when he would decide to take pity on me. He stopped tickling my sides immediately and I opened my eyes to see him hovering over me. His eyes still sparkling with an impish amusement that I couldn't quite recall him ever showing before. I liked it, though. It gave him a boyish, young and carefree vibe. It took me a moment to realize that he wasn't just _hovering _over me, but he was _actually_ on top of me with his legs on either side of me. His arms were on either side of my head. Our eyes met and locked and we just lied there for long amount of time before he rolled over so that I was on top of him.

"Will you be less inclined to make my clothes jingle if I apologize for spooking you and promise to make some noise next time?" he asked.

"Making noise is good," I said, nodding.

"I will keep that in mind, then," he promised. "Anything else?"

_**((Warning: this part gets heated.))**_

I thought about it as I stared down at him. Our eyes met and locked in place. I smiled at him, leaned forward, and kissed his soft lips. He buried his hand in my ear, holding me close as he deepened the kiss. I eventually moved the kiss to his neck, and grinned against his skin as he gripped my hips firmly and rolled us over so that i was on the bottom again. He pulled back and shot a devilish grin at me before he slipped one of his hands under my shirt to trace little circles on the skin of my stomach. The mere touch was a scorching trail that went deep into my soul.

His grin grew brighter as arched up into his touch, and without either of us uttering a word, he had my shirt up over my head and on the floor. Then his lips were on mine once more. I was immediately lost to the taste of him, the warm masculine smell of him. Oh who was I kidding. I was lost to the sheer potent essence of him. It was quite the understatement to say that I was disapointed when he broke our kiss. Our eyes met and we both seemed to know what the other wanted instantly.

The sex was at a different level than it was the time. Where I wanted the intensity, he seemed to want to torture me with an irritatingly slow pace first. Before I could so much as get his own shirt, he had me naked and pretty much pinned down. I would've loved to see him naked, but that became a forgotten wish when I was lost to an intense bliss that burned me deep down to the very core of my being. It was both a blessing and a disappointment when he finally let me strip him bare.

Time slowed to a dead stop and all I could think about was how I was finally going to be with him again. Every single point of contact between us sent me up in flames as I burried my hands in his silky hair and pulled him to me for the hottest kiss I have had in a while, and there was where I was lost in the mounting passion and bliss. I wasn't aware of anything but him and the extreme ecstacy of it.

_**((For those who didn't want to read the scene, the end))**_

A few hours later, we were still lying there on his bed. I was in his arms and didn't want to move an inch more than I had to. His hold was strong, protective. I was comfortably safe, and I really didn't want to move as he whispered sweetly in my ear. It was mostly Russian, but I didn't mind not understanding it. I was too busy feathering kisses over his bare chest. I was vaguely aware of his hand going to my hair to play with the dark mahogany locks.

"I'm leaving tonight," he said.

Those words turned my blood to ice, replacing my warm mood with a chill I didn't like at all. I pushed myself out of his arms and into a sitting position to glare at him. Why was it that all my happy moments had to end on bad terms? It was so not fair.

"So this was what exactly?" I shot, furious. "A kiss off?"

"What?" Dimitri replied, eyes wide in disbelief. "No! Never! Tasha wants to go home before the wedding. We're coming back?"

"For how long, Dimitri?" I shot rhetorically. "You aren't staying here forever. Tasha lives forever away. You're her guardian. You have to stay with her, and she wants to go home, right?"

I really didn't want the answer. So I just got out of the bed and threw my clothes on. I didn't give a chance to answer as I left his room, ignoring him when he called me back. Perhaps I was being a little petty. Maybe I was just a little selfish to do that to him. Tasha was his charge. Who was I to make him choose? But damn it! I wanted him to choose me over her. I didn't stop walking until I was back in my room. I slammed the door shut and locked it before pressing my back against and screaming. This was so not fair.

I looked around the room, my room. I hadn't been inside since the attack, but there was no evidence there ever was one. Lissa had been thorough when she had it cleaned. I would have to thank her when I calmed down.

"Roza?" Dimitri's rang from the hall an hour. "Open the door. Let me explain."

"No, go away!" I exclaimed.

* * *

**Well hope you liked this and my shitty bliss scene. It's not the first one I wrote but personally I think they all suck so it's the first one I actually decided to show the public. Sorry about the crappiness.**


	20. Simply Misunderstood

One would think that the lethal warning in my tone would have been received loud and clear. Dimitri must have lost some very valuable brain cells, because he didn't leave. He kept trying to get me to let him in until he had to go and pack so they wouldn't miss their flight. He said something in Russian so soft and muffled I could barely hear him before he left. I listened to his footsteps retreat before letting out a strand of dark curses. I slammed my head back against my door in frustration before I went and curled up on my bed.

"Rose, Dimitri and Tasha are leaving," Lissa's voice broke my brooding silence. "Don't you want to come out and say goodbye? Dimitri wants to tell you something. Rose, he needs to talk to you. It's important."

"I'm busy, Liss," I said, a little darker than I meant to.

"Okay," was all she said.

I sighed at her tone. She sounded pretty put out. Brushing the guilt aside before it could influence me, I took my laptop out and set it on my desk. I was going to check my email and listen to some music, but I ended up just staring at the screen blankly, especially when Tasha and Mr. Kiss-Off came to the door to say 'goodbye.' Dimitri tried once more to get me to open the door and talk to him. I just ignored them and eventually gave up on reading my e-mail. Sighing, I shut the laptop and put it away before hurrying off to take a shower.

I changed into a pair of black jeans, a simple black t-shirt, an oversized black and gray hoodie. I grabbed my purse and put my stake as well as a switchblade in my jean pocket. I shifted my hoodie so that the stake was concealed and left my room. I didn't stop to tell anyone where I was going. By the sound of it, I assumed everyone was gone. They had probably gone with Tasha and Dimitri, keeping them company at the airport.

I shook the thought off and made my way to the garage and was going to get into my lovely little red Saleen S7 when I decided I didn't want to. I had no real destination in mind, and with Zane appearing to be the man threatening my life, I saw no real danger to myself. Well none that I couldn't handle on my own, anyway. So I ditched my purse in my car and left the mansion and the grounds on my feet and started running. I ran until my heart felt like it was about to leap out of my chest even as my legs seemed to be a millisecond from turning to pudding under my weight.

At that point, I was already at the beach and had run it twice. I stopped running and collapsed onto the sand to rest and think. Maybe I had been a little irascible and petty about the whole shitty situation. There was a part of me that kept pointing out how — even last time — Dimitri doesn't leave without a reason. Still, that petty and selfish part of me was much louder and kept pointing out how he still left me and didn't bother to even _talk _to me until he just happened to show up here a few weeks ago because Tasha intervened.

I sighed and let my mind merge into Lissa's so that I can see what they were doing. Lissa was sitting in the passenger seat of the SUV while Christian was driving. She was extremely worried about me and a little sad for Dimitri. That confused me a little. Why was she sad for Dimitri? My selfish side had lifted its snarling head once more at this. Dimitri had chosen to leave on his. _I _was the one hurt here.

"Liss, honey, everything will work out just fine," Christian assured her. "Life with Rose will be Hell on Earth for a weak obviously, but come the wedding, she'll realize that she's a bitch. She'll awful, apologize to all of us in classic Rose Hathaway fashion, and have her make-up sex with Belikov. Either way we'll be lucky she doesn't strip him bare at by the reception."

Lissa looked his way to glare at him for his crass comment.

"Christian, you're awful," she chided. "That's not funny."

Even as she spoke, however, she couldn't help but admit that he probably pegged me right. I had to admit that, depending on the situation, I probably would do exactly what Christian predicted. Granted, I would have to forgive Dimitri and he'd have to actually agree to the strip down in public. That didn't seem likely to happen anytime soon. I was still very much furious with him. Lissa was thinking along the same lines as me to, which made her mood dip even lower.

"Not even a little?" he asked, glancing at her out of the corner of his eye with an impish smirk.

She cracked a smile, but quickly looked out her window so he couldn't see exactly how amused she was at his jibe and the fact she knew I would've kicked his ass if I were in the car with them. Instead of encouraging him, she just shook her head and stayed silent.

"C'mon, Liss, you know it's true," he said with a chuckle before he seemed to rethink things. "Of course that is if we trust that Belikov won't completely muddle things up for himself. Again."

Lissa just shook her head, but she agreed with him on some level. Christian stopped at a red light, suddenly grabbed her face and pulled her in for a kiss. Completely grossed out, I went to pull out when Lissa's phone rang. She quickly grabbed it and glanced at the ID. It was Angelia. She quickly answered it as Christian started to drive again. Curiosity getting the better of me, I decided to stay and see why my substitute guardian was calling.

"Hello, Angelia, how was your flight?" Liss asked.

"Interesting to say the least," Angelia replied. "Zane was found dead when we landed in Court. I thought he was asleep, went to wake him, and realized too late he was dead."

"Did he kill himself?" Liss asked, not happy with the news.

"It looks that way. Well, I have to go, Princess, they want to ask more questions. I'll update you later."

"Alright."

"What was that about?" Christian asked as soon as she hung up.

"Zane's apparently gone and killed himself," she said.

She had no idea what to think of the news. On the one hand, Zane couldn't hurt me again. On the other, he was still a person and she couldn't understand why he just couldn't face the consequences of what he had done. I pulled out of her head with the same set of emotions. Still there was something in my gut telling me that nothing was what it seemed to be. I didn't like that all.

"Rose!" a voice exclaimed from behind me with a delighted tone.

I looked over my shoulder and smiled as I saw it was Marco. He looked genuinely happy to see me even though I broke up with him. I was glad that he didn't seem to be bitter about it. I had meant it when I said I thought of him as a friend. I wanted to keep that.

"Hi, Marco," I said brightly.

I had started off wanting to be alone, but now I was craving some company. Hopefully, Marco wouldn't mind chatting with me for a while. I didn't think he would, but who really knew. He closed the distance between us and pulled me into a warm hug, making me smile a little.

"The last time we talked you were just recovering from a killer flu," he said, looking at me as if he wanted to make sure I was indeed recovered. "How are you feeling?"

We had all agreed that no one outside the house needed to know I had been poisoned so I had been hit with a rare case of the flu. I didn't mind the lie. I actually loved it. It made me feel like less of an incompetent screw up. I was about to answer him when my stomach growled loudly, reminding me I hadn't eaten all day. Marco must have heard it because his eyebrow shot up as he stared at me.

"Hungry?" he asked lightly.

I looked down for a moment before nodding. Though hungry was an understatement. I was actually starving, but having run all the way here, I didn't exactly have anything on me to eat or any cash on me. Marco seemed to realize this because he nodded and gave me a warm smile.

"How about I take you to Burger King or something so you can get something in that stomach of yours?" he asked.

"Sounds great since I ran here and really don't feel like going back home right now," I said.

He grinned and led me off to the lot where his dark black antique Impala sat parked. I got into the passenger seat and shut the door. It wasn't until Marco got in and drove off that I suddenly felt uneasy. I couldn't place it so I just ignored it. Marco got a phone almost immediately after leaving the lot. He talked for a few minutes in a language I didn't know. It didn't sound like Russian, but maybe a language from a neighboring country. I didn't know. I couldn't tell.

"Do you mind if we detour?" he asked. "I have to pick up my father."

"No, take your time," I said as my unease increased. Something was off.

**Dimitri's POV**

The flight probably only lasted an hour or so, but it felt like eons to me as I dwelled on Rose and what had happened before I left. Okay so maybe the first thing out of my mouth should not have been that I was leaving, but she was the one who jumped to conclusions and refused to let me explain. Heck, she refused to let me get even a single syllable out of my mouth. I thought things might have gone back to normal again, but it seemed as though I somehow managed to get her to go back to hating me. I sighed at the thought only to be brought back to reality when Tasha's hand patted my shoulder and she spoke for the first time since we boarded.

"The plane's about to land, Dimka," she said. "You can call Rose when we get home and fix everything."

"If she'll listen," I mumbled.

I doubted very much that she would. I hadn't planned on having sex with her before I told her that Tasha and I were moving into the mansion. I had been honest when I said I was leaving, but we were only leaving to pack the rest of our things. With everything that had happened, particularly to Rose, I hadn't liked the thought of having to leave her after the wedding. Apparently, my displeasure had been pretty obvious to everyone - except Rose. It was Christian who voiced the idea about me and Tasha moving in with them. I doubted he came up with it on his own. Chances were that Lissa and Tasha ended up talking about Rose and me then Liss took it to Christian. I didn't doubt that it was Lissa's idea. Christian probably just wanted to be the one to bring it up. Tasha was his aunt after all.

"She's stubborn woman, Dimitri," Tasha said. "She loves you, though. She'll forgive your moment of idiocy."

"Gee, thanks," I said dryly, though hoping she was right.

We fell silent for the rest of the journey. I was deep in thought, and I think Tasha was only silent because she knew I wanted to think. I needed to think. Soon as we got into the house, I went straight to the phone and punched in Rose's cell number. I was surprised to have it go straight to voicemail. For one thing, she never had her phone off. I brushed it off and tried the house. Knowing Rose, she could very well have turned her phone off to avoid talking to me. She had certainly gone out of her way to do so when I tried to explain everything.

"Hello?" Christian's voice answered on the third ring,

"Hey, how's Rose?" I asked. "I tried her cell but it's off."

"She's still locked up in her room," he said, sounding suspiciously like he was on the verge of laughter. "Liss has been trying to get her out for an hour now. Want to talk to her?"

"No, its fine," I said. "I'll call later. I need to help Tasha pack. Thankfully we don't need much but our clothes and valuable knick-knacks."

Christian laughed and we exchanged farewells before hanging up. I didn't go off to start packing my things though. I called Rose's cell again and again and again. Every time it went straight to voice mail. Each time, my gut dropped an inch to the floor. The feeling was made worse when the phone in my hand rang. I answered it to find Lissa on the other line.

"Hey, Christian said you called," she said. "I'm sorry she hasn't come out yet and she's not talking. I think she's asleep. Christian won't let me go in to check on her so I don't know for sure. He's afraid she'll go psycho and throw something at me I think."

"She's capable, but I doubt she'd ever do something like that to you," I said. "So why are you calling if things with Rose is at a stalemate?"

"Oh right," she said, getting back on track. "Christian forgot to ask if you got a call from Angelia."

"I don't know," I said honestly. "I had to turn my cell off for the flight and haven't turned it back on yet. Everything okay?"

"Well, she called me when we were driving home from the airport and said that Zane has apparently killed himself. She said she'd call with more details, but you might want to check your phone."

When I hung up, I checked my cell. There were two voicemails. Both were from Angelia. One alerted me to Zane's death. The other was an update. They had apparently thought death had been caused an overdose of pain medication. They had found evidence of poison however. That meant suicide wasn't looking so likely. I had a feeling that I was the only one of the group Angelia called, because neither Lissa nor Christian had called me. I, myself, didn't like the news one bit. It meant that - even if Zane had been the first attacker - he wasn't working alone. It also meant Rose could still be in danger.

And suddenly, my gut crashed strayed through the floorboards as dread took its place. I couldn't shake the feeling that something bad was going to happen. I just didn't know what.

* * *

**Well I hope you liked this one. Also let me know what you think of Dimitri's POV. He's not an easy character to wrap around, but I think I did a pretty good job at trying to get in his head. **


	21. Blast of the Past

**Rose's POV**

That feeling in my gut had disappeared for most of the drive, though I was surprised when we turned onto an old worn road that looked like a mix of dirt and gravel. It ran through a dense forest. There was no sign of civilization, and it took a good amount of time for us to get through the winding tunnel of trees. Even then, there was no sign of much in the way of life. We drove a good fifteen minutes through a wild meadow and then finally we pulled up to a huge wrought iron gate.

I stared at the house through the bars with my mouth hanging open like a fish trying to catch flies. The place was a fortress that was encased in a stone wall barrier that must have been the size of the walls around our house. The mansion there was in the style of a small medieval age castle. By mansion I mean mountain of course. The building was huge. Marco's dad must be loaded.

As the heavy gates opened and we drove on, I stared out the window with wide eyes. It was something out of a fairytale and I couldn't decide if it were the princess' castle or the wicked stepmother's. Well in this case it would prince or stepfather but regardless the place carried a strange vibe to it. When Marco pulled up to the front of the house, a man came out to meet us and he was a Moroi. That was positively shocking considering Marco was a dhampir and not many dhampirs knew who their fathers were. Dimitri was the only one I knew of who had.

It was an oddity. I didn't get enough time to dwell on. As soon as the realization hit a sharp pain shot through my head. My site fuzzed out and everything went black. I woke up to find myself on the dirty floor of a windowless room. It was so dark that I couldn't see anything. Groggily, I tried to stand up only to find I couldn't go past a sitting position. It was then that I realized something was around my wrists and ankles. I couldn't see what but it sounded like metal. I tugged at the restraints a little as light suddenly covered the room, allowing me to see.

It was definitely a windowless room with a dirty floor. I looked at my wrists and frowned as I saw I was chained to the wall. Sadly, it wasn't a pipe and the metal looked positively unbreakable. I tugged and pulled to no avail. Growling in frustration, I gave up. A few minutes later, I heard a sound like something heavy and metal being moved and then some locks turning. Then a door opened and moonlight shone through. From my angle I could see that outside a little. It was only a glimpse because someone suddenly blocked the view as they entered.

I stared up at Marco and glared at him and suddenly I recalled what happened. I had been hit on the back of the head by Marco. He just stared at me with a smug expression. Forgetting my restraints, I tried to lunge at him, intent on ripping his throat out with my bare hands. I couldn't move far without the chains jerking me back.

"Are you obsessed with Dungeons and Dragons or something?" I shot, greatly pissed off when his reaction came with an amused and twisted laugh.

"My father didn't want to risk it," he said.

I flinched at the voice. It wasn't Marco's. Well, I suppose it was but it wasn't the voice I was used to hearing as his. This voice was that of my attacker's. It was that Russian accented voice, and it made my skin crawl to finally know the face of the bastard only to find out I had been dating him for over month.

"You bastard," I hissed.

"Ah so you remember," he said, grinning like he had won some sort of prize.

"Who the hell are you, really?"

"You don't waste time, do you?" he asked, but continued before I could speak my venomous reply. "My name is Yulian. You'll meet my father in an hour. He had something to do and wanted me to make sure you were. . . comfortable."

"Comfortable?"

He smirked at me and could feel the goose bumps erupt on my skin. It was not the warm expression that I was used to seeing on that face. It was cold and cruel; almost something a Strigoi would wear. However, there was more to it than that. The expression held something else. When he spoke of his father, his eyes lit up in way that just screamed how much the man meant to him. He might be a sadistic prick, but the guy genuinely cared about his dad. A Strigoi would not have been capable of that.

"Okay so his actual order was for me was to make sure you woke up from the blow I gave you," he said shrugging as if we were talking about something as unimportant as the weather. "He was afraid I might have accidentally hit you too hard. He didn't want you dead right away. He has something to do with you first."

With that he turned his back on me and left through door. I heard the lock turn as soon as the door shut. Cursing him under my breath, I started pulling at my restraints. It would have been so much better if I had been chained up to the plumbing or something. Of course nothing ever went the way I want it and the bastards just had to have me chained to a damn wall, and the wall just had to be forged by a freaking god. I wasn't going anywhere any time soon and it was really pissing me off, and it was quite a surprise when I found myself drifting off to sleep.

I came to screaming in agony. My head felt as though it had been cleaved in two and then stabbed with a million knives. Even feeling Victor torturing Lissa with air or the ghosts assaulting me hadn't been this bad. Just as suddenly as the pain had started, it stopped.

"Hello, are you with us again?" a voice I didn't recognize said brightly.

I looked up to glare daggers at the new man only to get a shock as I was hit with a distinct sense of familiarity. The kicker was I couldn't place exactly where I might have met him, and it was more like I only seen parts of him before. He came closer and I launched at him only to be reminded of my medieval situation. I couldn't get very far. The guy noticed and flashed me a smirk.

"Who the hell are you!" I snapped, pretty pissed off.

"Zarek Krupin," he said. "You may call me Z."

Our eyes met and I suddenly felt an odd fluttering sensation in my head. It wasn't compulsion. It was like someone was just poking into my head. I didn't like that one bit at all. Narrowing my eyes on my captor, I focused on blocking my thoughts from him. If Lissa could do it to me, why can't I do it here. The rustling in my head eventually stopped so I assumed I was succeeding in the block.

"Your mother ever teach you it's rude to go where you aren't invited," I hissed.

He didn't reply. He just stared at me for a moment before his smile widened. A second later, that excruciating headache came back and I found I could no longer think. This time I clenched my teeth and refused to make a sound, but damn it hurt. Eventually, the pain got so bad that I passed out.

* * *

**Sorry for such a long wait. This will be the last chapter that will be entirely in Rose's POV for a while. Rose's POV will still be done but it won't be as much. Dimitri's POV will be the main and I might throw in some others POVs. But again it'll mostly be Dimitri.**


	22. No Good News

**HAPPY NEW YEAR! Hope you all had a good one. I'm sorry for the long wait. Anyway this entire chapter is in Dimitri's POV so I hope you like it and it's kind short, but I realized that I was taking forever so I decided to just put it up how it is. Again I hope you enjoy this.**  


* * *

I hadn't stopped packing — and throwing away the stuff I didn't need or want to bring with me — since I had started right after my phone conversation with Angelia. Something was terribly wrong, and I just wanted to get back to Rose as quickly as possible. However, it seemed whenever I have a moment of irrational behavior, the irrational ones became the drivers. Eventually, Tasha decided that this was one of those situations. That woman could be quite persuasive when she wanted to be. It was my mistake to dismiss her determination. So in the end, I found myself sitting in the kitchen and staring blankly at the plate of spaghetti set in front of me.

"Oh for Heaven's sake, Dimitri," Tasha snapped impatiently. "You need to get something in your stomach. The sooner you eat, the sooner you can go back to packing. Now eat!"

I refrained from glaring at her before taking a bite of my dinner. I really didn't want to be down here though. Yes, Tasha was right, but I just couldn't shake the feeling that something was terribly wrong. The gut feeling was messing with my appetite and making the need to be back there with Rose even more urgent. I didn't eat much and finally Tasha gave up on trying to get me to finish my plate. Feeling quite smug about the very minor victor, I went back to my room and got back to clearing it.

All my clothes, books, and mementos were put into their designated boxes. I left two of my books — the one I was currently reading and one I hadn't yet read since I was almost finished with the former so I figured it best to have an extra in case I needed something else to read on the plane ride or later. All of my keepsakes, like old photos and the random things that meant the most to me, actually fit neatly in one small box. Yeah, I didn't really have much in that sense. I had only been able to pack up half my closet of clothes before exhaustion claimed. Very reluctant, I went to bed and instantly fell into a restless sleep.

I dreamed that night, but even for dreams, these were senseless and bizarre. It didn't settle or focus on anything specific. The only constant was the emotions and none of them were pleasant. There was fear, anger, and a lot of confusion, but I had a feeling none of it was me. Well, at least, none of it was because I was in trouble. It was something else. Something more sinister. In the beginning of the dream, it was all very disorganized and crazy. None of it made a lick of sense or stuck in my head for long.

"_Dimitri."_

That was the first thing that gained my focus. It also made the unpleasant emotions settle deep with in me, turning my blood cold, especially when the disembodied voice kept call me. It became more and more sinister and a big part of me recognized it. I just couldn't actually pin the voice. I knew that I had heard it before. Frustration hit me among the other emotions though the fear was definitely not for my own well-being. I was afraid, sure, but it was for those I cared most about.

_Rose._ That one word raced to the front my mind. As it did, the blurry and nonsensical images of the dream froze and faded into a dark black void. Only one figure was standing there with me. At first, I thought it was Rose, but then the figure became clearer. I soon realized it wasn't even female, but I couldn't make out any detailed features right away. Each one came to me individually and in such a way that have the time I almost missed them altogether. I was beginning to recognize the man when the sound of my cell brought me back to the reality of real life. I had set the phone on my night stand when I got ready so even though I still mostly asleep, i managed to find it rather easily.

Yawning, I opened my eyes and squinted at the alarm clock. Four. It was four in the morning. I instantly froze, all sleepiness gone. Wide awake, I grabbed my cell and looked at the ID. It was Lissa and warning bells instantly started to go off in my head. Whatever the reason, this call couldn't be good.

"Belikov," I said as stoic as I possibly could.

"Dimitri?" Lissa said, though the frantic tone made me wonder if it was meant to be a question.

"What's happened?" I said.

"Rose is gone," she said in a barely audible whisper. "I don't think she's been here since we took you and Tasha to the airport.

I braced myself for the worst, but even that didn't prepare me for those words. Hearing she was hurt or dead was one thing. Not knowing anything more than she was missing was something else. I hated the thought of losing Rose, but there was a comfort in at least knowing if there was anything I could do to help her. With only knowing that she was nowhere to be found, I was getting vague bad news. Of course she could be perfectly safe, but then I doubted that. She wouldn't have left Lissa this long if she truly had gone off on her own while we had gone to the airport. She would have — at the very — called to check in so Lissa wouldn't worry, even if she was mad at me. Then again, that was only if she hadn't forgotten something essential — say, like her cell phone. That thought almost made me chuckle, but it definitely allowed me some room to relax.

"I'm sure she's fine," I said, more for Lissa's benefit than my own since I had a feeling it wasn't that simple. "She probably needed some fresh air and forgot her cell phone so she hasn't been able to call. She'll be back soon I'm sure. Okay?"

"Yeah, okay," she said, though I could tell she didn't believe me. "When are you guys coming back?"

"As soon as possible if I can help it," I said. "It's way too early to have this conversation right now. I'm exhausted so let me sleep a while longer and I'll call you back when I get up, okay?"

"All right," she said. "I'm sorry I woke, Dimitri. I just haven't been able to sleep and Christian just finally let me go in and check on her. It's really late and she no where in the house."

"I know, but we can't do anything now," I said, trying to calm her down. "We both need sleep, though. Goodnight, Lissa."

She gave me a feeble goodnight and we hung up. I didn't sleep, though. I tried but my brain was reeling with worries I hadn't mentioned to Lissa. After a while, I gave up on sleep and went back to packing. I was finished before Tasha woke up and had actually decided to make breakfast for the both of us. It wasn't anything big. I settled with simple omelettes. We ate in complete silence. I think Tasha realized that something was bothering me but didn't know what it was. I didn't really care to elaborate right there and then. Thankfully and aside from concerned glance shot my way, she didn't press. Grateful, I ate quickly and immediately called Lissa.

"Dimitri, she's still not home," Lissa greeted without so much as a brief hello. "Christian found her purse in her car a couple minutes ago. Apparently, the door wasn't completely shut so he got curious. Her cell was there, too."

"Okay, calm down," I told her. "I'll get the next flight out and be there as soon as possible. Don't worry. I'm sure she's fine."_ I hope, _I added silently not wanting to upset Lissa further.

After I hung up with Lissa, I looked up flights back to her city. The earliest flight happened to be in three days at noon. My frustration skyrocketed then and there. I didn't like any of this at all, and I was determined to get there sooner than three days, even if I had to drive the entire way. Still, that meant most of mine things would probably have to be left behind until whenever.

"Tasha, how far have you gotten with your packing?" I asked an hour later.

"Almost done I think, why?"

"Do you want to fly back in three days or drive there sooner?"

"Are you done packing?"

"Mostly," I conceded. "Rose has been missing since we had left for the airport."

"Hmm, how about you call Lissa and tell her that if she doesn't hear from Rose at the end of tonight then you'll drive down first thing in the morning. That way you can finish packing and you'll know for sure if something's wrong or not."

I didn't like the idea of waiting but nodded and called Lissa back.


	23. Too Far Down Memory Lane

I didn't last twenty-four hours and by midnight the next day, I was pulling up into Lissa and Christian's driveway. I just wasn't able to shake that feeling in the pit of my stomach that kept telling me something was seriously wrong. Tasha wasn't happy about being left alone to finish packing everything else, but I didn't care. The only thing that mattered was Rose, and every single time I called, there was no change. She was still missing, neither seen nor heard. Last time I called Christian had to take the phone from Lissa because of how worried she was starting to get. This wasn't like Rose. She didn't just disappear for no reason. Well, she wouldn't have left Lissa behind without any warning. She wouldn't have abandoned her charge and best friend.

I was barely out of the car when the door to the mansion opened and out ran Lissa. Christian wasn't far behind, though his pace was much slower. I wasn't fooled though. I could tell he was worried. I doubted Rose was the one he was actually worried about right at the moment. His eyes never left Lissa. Rose being MIA was wreaking havoc on her even more than it was doing to me. I supposed it had to do with the bond and how Rose could get into her head but Lissa couldn't get into Rose's. I didn't say a word to either of them as I grabbed my bags. I hadn't brought much; it was just one suitcase of clothes and a smaller bag that held other simple necessities.

"Did she call you?" Lissa asked in a small voice. "Maybe she ran a little further than she should have and tried to get a hold of you to get a ride. Christian and I have been on the phones all day, calling everyone. Maybe she's been trying to call and we left the lines busy."

"Maybe," I agreed for her benefit. "She hasn't called me though. Of course, with the way things ended before the flight, I'm probably the last person she wants to get a h—"

Some subtle movement caught my eye, and instantly, I was in guardian mode. At this point, I really doubted Rose was safe. I was actually pretty sure she was in a heap of trouble somewhere that even _her _logic couldn't get her out of. Of course, that would mean that there was a good chance that Zane had indeed been nothing more than a puppet on a screen. I didn't like thinking of him as a pawn. It meant that I was probably up against something a whole lot bigger than I had thought I was. Brushing the thoughts away, I made my way into the house behind Lissa and Christian.

Feeling uneasy, I didn't really do much talking with them. I told them about my drive down in a half-hearted way. Lissa insisted that I eat something. Apparently, Margie had gotten back from her vacation and had been in such a mood that she could up quite a feast. I had heard about her from the two, but I never actually met the girl. In any other situation, I might have been a little more curious about how a human that was neither an alchemist nor a feeder ended up working and living with two vampires and half-vampire bodyguards. I was actually sure I was a little ruder than I should've been. I ate in silence and then headed upstairs without out a word.

I went straight to the room Lissa had given me two months ago and started unpacking.. I didn't have much to unpack so it didn't take long at all. When I was done, though, I had a lot of time on my hands and at some point ended up in Rose's room. I wasn't surprised to find that it looked pretty much uninhabited. The bedspread was wrinkled as if she had been laying on it, but other than that she had definitely not been in here since she had locked herself up inside the day I left. She hadn't slept in here since the day Zane had attacked her. She actually hadn't stepped foot in the room by herself until the day I had left. I could remember Christian asking her about it during dinner one night like it was yesterday.

_"Rose, don't lose your mind but why haven't you been in your room yet?"_

_Rose glanced at me before pegging him with a glare that I swear could melt steal. I wouldn't have been surprised if it did. I stayed silent, though. I wanted to know just as much as Christian. I just hoped she'd tell me on her own._

_"I almost killed a guardian," she answered as if he had lost a few brain cells and she was suddenly worried about his intelligence. "I don't want to face it right now."_

_"You had no choice," I told, shocked by her words. "He would've killed you."_

_She shrugged but didn't say anything else. We ate in silence, and I thought about the reason she gave Christian. I suspected it was only half of the truth. Somewhere down the line, she had ended up bunking with me. I had a feeling a part of her didn't want a reason for that to end. I smiled a little at that, wondering if perhaps she was really forgiving me for leaving her like I had._

"Dimitri, you have a phone call," Lissa's voice interrupted my trip down Memory Lane.

I looked up and took the phone she held out for me with a frown. Who would be calling me from Lissa's house phone? I knew it wasn't Tasha. Lissa would've said it was, but she was the only one aside from her nephew and Lissa to know I was here. Sighing, I put the phone to my ear and stopped Lissa from leaving the room by grabbing her arm.

"Hello?"

"Dimitri, it's been a while," the man on the end greeted.

I stiffened instantly as I recognized the voice. It was a voice I hadn't heard in years. It made my blood run ice and my hair stand on end because I had thought he was dead. The fact that I had been wrong would have once made me happy, but with the tone he was using, I wasn't getting a positive vibe. This wasn't good. It couldn't be.

"Yulian, how did you know I was here?" I asked.

* * *

**Sorry for the wait, but I hope you like it. I've been having a bit of writer's block so that's why posts are taking me so long. Anyway, it's getting better so hopefully the next chapter will be up sooner.**


	24. Them

Yulian laughed at that in a way that froze my blood. I didn't like the menace in it and there was a _lot_ of menace in there. It worried me. When he spoke, I realized then just why I was so worried.

"Well, why wouldn't I know?" he asked me snidely.

The voice was suddenly wrong, though. It wasn't Yulian's thickly Russian voice. It was an American-accented voice that I recognized immediately as the voice of Marco. I couldn't hold back my scowl as I realized what was going on. There had always been something about Marco I hadn't liked, hadn't trusted. Everyone thought it was jealousy that made me dislike him. It was a decent part of my dislike, but even from the beginning, something seriously bothered me about him. Now I knew what that something was.

Yulian had once been a good friend of mine. I hadn't seen him since we graduated, but even before then, we had began to break away. He started to become hostile to me long before graduation. He had changed over the years in appearance but my mind must have recognized him because I honestly thought I had seen him before. I just figured he was one of Adrian or Rose's friends. I hadn't expected Marco to actually be Yulian. It also didn't help matters that the last I had heard Yulian was dead. That reminder made me tense immediately.

"I heard you were dead," I said stiffly.

"You shouldn't always believe what you hear, you know," he tsked at me. "That wasn't always one of your traits."

I didn't answer him, my mind reeling.. I couldn't believe what I was hearing, but something told me it was going to get so much worse. That feeling in my gut terrified me, especially when I heard what sounded dangerously like a scream of pain or fear closely followed by a cruel muffled laugh. All I could think was how much I hoped I was just hearing things and that it wasn't Rose in the background. I had feeling it wasn't going to be that way though.

"What do you want?" I said as calmly as I could.

"Oh, just figured some reuniting was in order," Yulian said cheerfully.

Before I could ask what he meant by that I heard rustling that was closely followed by a muffled conversation. Then suddenly the conversation was no longer muffled. I wasn't paying attention, however. They weren't talking to me and I was more interested in the softer voice that didn't seem to be following the conversation but just spouting off insults like they were her life line. Before I could think more on the voice and who it belonged — something I already knew — I was suddenly remembered by Yulian and his companion.

"Hey, Dimitri," Yulian finally said. "Say hi to dad."

"You don't know your father," I said rigidly.

"Well not true," he countered. "I met him during school after my mother died. Funny thing is, you knew him long before I ever did."

"What do you mean?" I asked, though I had an idea.

"He means that you know me," a new voice jumped in.

I tensed immediately for I recognized his voice as well. Zarek Krupin. Just like Yulian's voice, I never thought I'd hear the voice of the bastard who gave me and my sisters his DNA. I never - in a million years - thought he'd be stupid enough to talk to me.

"Say hello to our Dad," Yulian laughed humorlessly.

"Our?" I echoed, scowling deeply.

"Oh, you didn't know? Turns out we're half brothers. See, he had a fling with my mom. When she died, he was kind enough to take me in. We have a lot of thing i-"

"Yulian, shut up!" Zarek snapped. "He doesn't care about our family tree. I'm sure he cares about who we have here with us. Say 'hello,' Rosemarie."

I swallowed my fear down before it crept up on me and prayed that I heard my father wrong. I hated the thought of the bastard near my mother or sisters. That feeling was nothing compared to my complete loathing I felt at the mere thought of him so much as speaking her name. I didn't know why Yulian seemed to be his flunky. I couldn't honestly say I even cared. The one thing I knew for sure was that, I knew who had most likely written those threats.

"Hello, Rosemarie," Rose repeated with a lovely dose of sarcasm and disgust.

I could've jumped through the phone and kissed her right then. Instead, I just laughed not at all surprised by her rancor. They obviously weren't her favorite people, but it was a relief for me to hear those words. If she was getting snippy, Rose had to be fine. Her snarky comments were a trademark I knew well. My musings and laughter instantly vanished when I heard her scream. Immediately, I recalled the muffled screams from earlier on in this phone call. Only now did I realize I hadn't been hearing things.

"What did you do to her?"

"Just trying to teach her some respect," Zarek said, unphased.

I lost it then. All I could see was him beating my mother, my sisters terrified. I usually had excellent control on my temper, but at that moment, it was all gone. I was so worked up that all I saw was red. The very thought of him touching Rose sent my blood boiling to the point I was going to erupt like some massive volcano. Rose suddenly screamed again, and whatever control I may of still been grasping, fled my hold and I blew up.

"So help me god, Krupin, let her go now," I hissed.

"I think not," he laughed. "She's actually quite entertaining."

"Trust me, _Dad_," I spat the word with all the venom I could muster. "I will find you, and if there's one _single _hair out of place on her head, you'll wish I killed you fourteen years ago."

"I'd love to see you try," Zarek sneered.

I could hear Yulian laughing. Rose was too silent for my liking, but before I could say anything else, the line went dead. Swearing darkly in both Russian and English, I tossed the phone on the bed. Lissa had long been forgotten and I didn't realize she was in the room still until I felt her hand on my shoulder. I tensed as the urge to shove her off of me hit hard. Still I didn't want to hurt her.

"What was that all about?" she asked me. "Who was that? Dimitri w-was Rose there? Is she okay?"

I sighed, uncertain how to answer her questions. The last thing I wanted to do was make Lissa even more worried than she already was. I couldn't do that to her. I couldn't say nothing either. Sighing, I eventually opted to postpone the inevitable as an idea struck me hard.

"Do you still keep in touch with Adrian?" I asked her somberly.

"Yes, why?"

I told what I need and handed her the phone. She nodded, a little confused but willing to comply with me. I didn't tell her about the conversation. She kept asking, though, and it got to the point that I had to get Christian in to convince to go lie down. When she finally did that, I went into the living room, called Adrian, and waited.

**Rose's POV**

I was getting pretty tired of my little predicament. I mean I was pissed. Sadly that just made things worse on me. Of course, getting to hear Dimitri's voice was enough to make it all just a little bed. It was just too bad that I hadn't had the chance to tell him where I was. With a sigh I tugged on my chains a little. I really hated this. I felt like some deranged, wild animal that was being studied by equally deranged idiots.

Suddenly, I was ripped back, slamming hard into the brick wall. I was pretty winded from the impact, and it didn't stop there. My arms were pulled wide against the wall so I couldn't move them. Then out of nowhere, Marco — er I mean Yulian. Whoever the hell he was, came up to me.

"Can't you behave yourself for once?" he tsked at me. "We might have let you talk to him a little."

Instead of answering him, I spit in his face. That got me nice meet-and-greet with the back of his hand across my face. Then, to my complete and utter disgust, the bastard kissed me. I turned my head away and tried hard to not throw up. That was when I noticed something astonishing. I had initially thought that there was some mechanism that pulled in or extended the chain at my captors' discretion. Now that I was actually, I saw there was no such thing. They just sort of hung there again the wall. I turned my head to the Moroi. I couldn't believe I hadn't realized it when he had tried to get into my head. I wasn't dealing with no ordinary Moroi.

God damn it! I was the biggest idiot in history, and I was so going to regret it.


	25. Dead End

"I'm not getting anything from her."

I didn't like the words coming out of Adrian's mouth. He had hitched a ride with Angelia — who was heading back down after being aside to replace Zane — just to get down to Lissa's as soon as possible. In spite of whatever their fight had been about the last time they had seen each other, Adrian still cared a great deal for Rose and had been all for aiding in finding her. That was where we were now. He had been trying to get into her dreams for a good five or six hours with no break. The hours were beginning to take their toll on him. He was either going to call it a night or pass out while trying. Something told me it would be the latter. Lissa seemed to be thinking along the same lines as me.

"Take a nap, Adrian," Lissa said, worry deeply etched on her face. "You'll be useless if you pass out before she does."

I had to bite my tongue to keep from arguing with her. I wanted Rose home, safe and sound. The sooner that happened the better I would feel. As much as I hated to admit it, though, Lissa was right. We needed Adrian to get into Rose's dreams and find out where she was being held. Lissa hadn't mastered that ability, and I hadn't even known my father was alive, much less in The States. How on Earth was I going to find her without help? No, we couldn't risk missing out. He needed to be alert.

"You know, perhaps the reason Adrian can't get into her head is because she's d—"

"Do NOT finish that sentence," I sneered at Angelia, interrupting her words. "She's alive."

Everyone's gazes turned to me then. Adrian and Christian's expressions weren't so bad. They were blank but also knowing. Adrian got to his feet and left. Christian's attention soon turned to Lissa — whose expression was full of fear. Angelia's was full of sympathy and pity. I couldn't stand either of those expressions on me. Lissa's fear bothered me because it reminded of the fear I was currently suppressing. Angelia's expression just made me uncomfortable. As Angelia opened her mouth, I waved my hand to cut her off before she said something that would likely piss me off. I got to my feet and headed out of the living room.

"I'll be outside," I called out as I headed for the door. "I need to run."

That was exactly what I did. Since Adrian was probably resting, I needed to find something to occupy my mind. I ran for about fifteen minutes before I quickly found out it was hopeless. Giving up, I headed back toward the house only to be met at the door by Adrian and Lissa, who looked even more terrified than before. Adrian just looked like he was going to throw up.

"What is it?" I asked, keeping my guardian mask up as I looked between the two spirit-users.

"I decided to try one last time before taking that break that Lissa's been insisting on," he said. "I finally got into Rose's dreams."

Relief struck me hard at that. Though I had hoped she was alive, I small part of me had doubted it. I wanted so badly to throw my head back and yell in triumph, but their expressions stopped me from making a fool out of myself. It kept me very serious and as still as a statue as I waited for the bad news that was written all over their faces.

"She was alive obviously, but I didn't get any time to find out her location," he said. "She was woken up almost immediately after I got in."

There was a catch in Adrian's voice as he said she was alive, and I caught it easily. There was something else that he found out but wasn't willing to share with me. I wasn't in the mood for a guessing game, especially not when the stakes were so high.

"What else, Adrian?" I pushed, clenching my fists tight behind my back in an attempt to keep from shaking him.

"I got a glimpse of something," he admitted slowly.

"What do you mean?" I asked.

"It was obvious that something is seriously wrong," he said bluntly. "She was smiling and appeared to be happy to see me, but her aura wasn't matching it. It was dark, like usual, but it wasn't really from Lissa's spirit-induced darkness. There was so much black and gray. That was purely emotion though. I could tell because it was laced with a bunch of other colors. She was angry and maybe a little worried or at the very least getting there."

I nodded but didn't bother with a reply. They all knew where I stood. I didn't care about technicalities. I just wanted to know where she was being kept so that we could get her back home. I brushed past the two and went back inside, heading downstairs to the little gym area. There was a punching bag with my name on it. I still needed to burn some steam. The run had done nothing so maybe pounding some inanimate object and pretending it was my insane and abusive father would do it. I actually preferred the real thing, but this would have to do for now. I spent the entire day down there. It wasn't as if i had much of choice. I had to do something. I hated the fact that I couldn't help Rose. At least at ski resort when she had been taken by the Strigoi, we had an idea of where she might be. She hadn't been alone either, and we had enough knowledge to start searching. There was none of that here. She was alone with two mad men — both of which hated me — that were bent on revenge. She was on her own, and I had no idea where to even begin looking for her.

I could usually keep a lid on my emotions, but I felt absolutely worthless at the moment. I hated it, but I couldn't do anything about it because I had nothing substantial to go on. I lost myself to the thoughts and memories that were running around my skull. I barely registered Lissa when she came down to tell me that Tasha was on her way and would be here tomorrow morning. I really didn't care, and didn't even acknowledge Lissa when she had asked me if I heard her. There was no real point to answer her. She knew as much and thankfully left me alone. I had no wish to see or speak to anyone at the moment. I just wanted to do something and it killed me to know that I was stuck here while Rose was in danger. I don't know how long I pounded that punching bag, but eventually I just sunk to the ground at let and just lied there. I just stared up at the ceiling.

"_Do you ever wonder what would've happened if you decided to stay with me instead of leaving?" Rose had asked me._

"_All the time," I said._

"_If you could have, would you have stayed?"_

I closed my eyes as I thought back to that moment. It had been the morning after Zane's attack. Rose was exhausted but hadn't wanted to sleep. She just wanted to keep talking. I hadn't gotten the chance to answer that question because she had fallen asleep. It caught me off guard so I hadn't known what to say at first. When I turned to look at her, she had been asleep. In that moment, I knew that if I had known what I knew now I probably would have stayed behind and watched Rose like a hawk. She would have hated it and things probably would not have been all that different. She would ended up hating me for my overprotectiveness, because there was one thing I would not have done any differently. I would have kept the letters to myself.

I sighed as those pointless thoughts ran circles in my head. This wasn't fair. I had just begun to get her back, and she was ripped away from me. This time, however, was far different than any other obstacle. This time it was a direct attack on me, because the enemy wasn't just some random thing out to cause mayhem. They wanted me and knew exactly where to hit in order to cause the most damage. They underestimated it though. Even though Rose may have been my weakness, she was my strength as well, and I would be damned before I let my step-father and a former friend — who happened to be a half-brother I never knew about — take her away from me. I had dealt with Strigoi and Victor's psychotic schemes, but I had never been the direct target.

It had always been indirect. Victor had wanted Lissa so he had to get me and Rose out of the way. The Strigoi that had kidnaped Rose and her friends hadn't even known about me or my feelings for her. For the first time, I was the sole target. Rose was just caught in the middle of my mess.

**Rose's POV**

Time seemed to blend together for me. It didn't take very long for me to lose track of it. Really, they made that all quite easy. When all the contact one got began and ended on an agonizing note, minutes became hours and hours became days and so on and so forth. It didn't help that they I couldn't see outside to keep track of the sun's setting and rising. I couldn't sleep. After Adrian had visited me, they didn't let me dose off for long. I was lucky if I could get a half hour. On top of that, there was no real schedule to their visits. I basically ate when they felt like. It wasn't all that great of food or enough to make a decent meal.

I was beginning to doze off for the first time in hours. Yulian was supposed to be keeping me awake but he had crashed hours ago. As my eyes began to droop, an idea struck me, especially when I realized they forgot to disarm me from everything. I had a hairpin still in my hair and the chain wasn't being held up by spirit so I had plenty of room to maneuver. Staying as quiet as I possibly could, I started to pick the locks on the cuffs around my wrists and ankles. Surprisingly enough, they were off within moments and I was free. My gaze fell to Yulian before I even attempted to leave the room. He was still asleep, but he could still be a liability.

I looked around the room frantically for something I could use. My eyes fell on the table in the farthest corner. I went over to it silently and examined it. Thankfully, the table was an ordinary wooden table. It wasn't even nailed to the floor. Remaining silent, I turned the table over onto its side — thankful that the table wasn't all that heavy. I quickly unscrewed one of the legs and turned to find Yulian was already starting to wake up. I didn't hesitate for a moment, and got to my feet immediately.

I bashed him hard over the head with my makeshift weapon, knocking him out cold. Then I chained him to the wall where they had me. I slipped my sneaker off, pulled off my sock, balled the sock up, and shoved it in his mouth. Keeping the table leg with me, I made my way out of the room only to find out it was something of a shack that was a on the premises but not actually apart of the mansion.

The sun was high in the sky, so it was about midday. That meant the Moroi — Dimitri's dad — was probably sleeping peacefully in his bedroom in the mansion. So long as I didn't run into any guardians that might have the day shift, I should be home free. All I needed was to get out of there. It was very difficult, but I soon stumbled across a garage. The door was opened and I slipped in without a sound. There was a single car inside. I checked the door and was relieved to find it was unlocked. I got in, dropped my little weapon, and started rifling through the glove compartments and under the driver's seat until I found a cell phone and a spare car key.

Sadly the phone was dead as a doornail, and before I could put the key into the ignition I was ripped out of the car by a guardian I hadn't noticed. Yep, I was definitely tired if I had gotten that careless. He took the phone and key right out of my hand and dragged me back to my little prison. Yulian had been freed and apparently taken out of the room, and Zarek was standing in the corner looking furious. The guardian pulled me along to a halt in front of Zarek. Zarek grabbed me and leaned his face close to mine.

"Naughty girl," Zarek grumbled before gesturing for the guardian that had nabbed me to leave.

When we were alone, he threw me into the wall pretty hard. I was actually surprised by the strength of it. Moroi weren't usually all that strong to begin with, and he was pretty old. I was lacking adequate rest and the impact was enough just enough to diminish what little energy I had left, though. So as I crumbled to heap on the floor, I didn't bother attempting to get back to my feet. I would just look stupid for the attempt. He closed the distance between us and knelt down so that we were level. Our gazes met and locked. I tried to look away from him, but I couldn't bring myself to actually manage it.


	26. Tick, Tick, Tick

The days just dragged on, and my psychotic father hadn't called once to gloat or nag. I wasn't entirely certain if that was a good thing. If he were to call, it could have been for any number of reason, but at least there would be a chance that I could hear Rose if even just for a second. Then again, the man would no doubt call when he killed her just to get the satisfaction of knowing he got to me. Of course, if he wasn't calling that probably meant Rose wasn't spending her time in luxury.

_It could mean he killed her and just wants to drag out your suffering._

I closed my eyes and pushed that thought away. She wasn't dead. She was too stubborn to die. Now, _that_ thought made me smile a little. Rose was the type that did the complete opposite of what people wanted her to do as long as she could help it just because she knows it would piss everyone. I was counting on that stubbornness to hold out until we can find her. Voices brought me out of my thoughts as Lissa, Christian, Adrian, and Tasha entered the living room.

"She's not answering," Lissa said, sounding frustrated. "Should I leave her a message or keep trying?"

"Keep trying," Tasha said. "Janine will pick up eventually and she deserves to hear her daughter's been kidnapped —"

I got to my feet and snatched the phone out of Lissa's hand. Janine Hathaway certainly had the right to know her daughter was in trouble, but I kept seeing how I was taking the news. The woman didn't deserve the same torture.

"Dimitri, what the hell?" Adrian snapped. "Janine has the right to know!"

"Yes, she does," I agreed through gritted teeth.

"Then let me keep trying to reach her," Lissa said, trying to get the phone away from me.

"We've got _nothing _to go on!" I exclaimed, holding the phone high over my head so that I could make my point clear without distraction. "Think about it. How are you guys taking it? Do you enjoy not knowing where she is? If she's alright!Right now she thinks Rose is home and safe. How do you think she'd feel knowing her daughter's _not _safe and we have no clue where she is so we can't change the predicament?"

There was a long stretch of silence after that. Christian and Tasha hadn't said a word. That was one thing I was grateful for. It was just Lissa and Adrian that seemed intent on arguing with me. Right now Adrian was glaring at me, and Lissa just looked hurt and caught between a rock and a hard place. I didn't like making her feel like that. She was just as worried about Rose as I was, but didn't need more people to lose their heads.

"She deserves to know," I said, finally breaking the silence. "She also deserves to have some good news mixed into the bad. Wait until we figure out where Rose is before you call her. She has a Moroi to watch over. She can't do her job if she's worrying over where her daughter is."

When all three nodded and didn't look like they wanted to argue with me, I handed Lissa the phone and left the living room without another word. I knew I was right. They knew I was right. Janine would not take this well. If I was losing my mind, how could we expect Rose's mother to keep her cool and not want to catch the first red-eye here in order to help search for her daughter.

**Rose's POV**

I apparently dried up whatever patience Zarek possessed. Either that or he just liked to toy with people. I suspected it was a bit of both. After my escape, I was pretty much left with nothing. He took away the hairpin that got me free, and no one was allowed inside my little prison but him. There was no more table. Basically I was a sitting duck. The only human contact I had was Zarek, and his moods varied greatly.

I didn't know how long I had been there. If I had to guess, I would have said a few days. It couldn't have been more than a week, but then again, I was judging time by Zarek's visits. They were few and far between, and mostly at night. I only knew that by the momentary glances of outside whenever the door opened. I also learned that the guy was truly insane. On a good visit he'd come in with a tray of shitty food and a glass of water and just stood there staring off into space while I ate — that was only about two of the visits so far. On a bad visit, which was a lot more common, there was no food or water for me. Sometimes, he would start talking to himself. He was the only one who got something good out of those visits.

My attention shot to the door as it opened. The bastard walked in and I immediately saw that it was going to be a bad visit. I quickly looked away and ignored him. It wasn't like I could do much else, but the bastard seemed to like attention and it pissed him off when I gave him none. Sure pissing him off wasn't that smart of an idea, but then neither was pissing me off. Still there was lots of satisfaction in knowing that he may have had me at a heavy disadvantage, but he still had absolutely no control over me.

"How are you my dear?" he said, suddenly addressing me.

I continued to ignore him. Refusing to acknowledge him wasn't just for my satisfaction. I was trying to figure out another way to escape. I was stuck though. I couldn't think of anything, which of course just irritated me. I was at my wit's end here. I just wanted to go home. Well, I wanted to beat the shit out of Dimitri's crazy father first, but when everything was all said and done, I wanted to be home. I was suddenly ripped out of my thoughts as a sharp pain hit. It took me a mere second to realize what it was. Zarek had gotten hold of my hair and had ripped back head so that I was staring up at.

"I asked a question," he murmured in a wickedly calm tone.

My answer was to spit in his face, which earned me a kick to the stomach that actually knocked the wind out of me. He released my hair and retreated from the room. He returned a few minutes later with such a look in his eyes that I was almost afraid he'd kill me. I knew that he wanted to torture Dimitri. The longer I was alive, the stronger that sensation would be. I was counting on that, but the look in the bastard's eyes were truly that of a madman that was intent on doling out as much pain and suffering as he could manage. The chains suddenly tightened up to the point where I could barely move, not that I didn't try. I tried as hard as I could until closed the distance and I saw what he held in his hand. I couldn't help but to stare at it incredulously.

"Oh you've got to be joking," I grumbled, watching with a raised eyebrow as he set it aside and sneered at me.

"I don't joke," he snarled. "We are going to have lots of fun though."

As he said that, the door opened once again and Yulian walked in. He had a healing black eye, but that wasn't where my attention was. No, I was much more interested in the objects he had carried in with him. There wasn't a single thing he held that bode well for me, and my eyes widened briefly as he set down everything but one of the two long rods, a poker. The two men spoke in Russian for a few minutes before Zarek nodded. He handed Yulian the camera and turned his attention back to me. Yulian took the camera and started snap pictures as Zarek made a quick fire in the middle of the room. I had a really bad feeling where this was going to go, but I refused to let either man no how worried this made me.

"No let's see if anything good comes out of this," Zarek said, sticking the poker in the fire.

"What are you going to do?" I asked. "Torture me to try and piss off Dimitri or just torture me for the hell of it?"

His only response was to take the hot metal stick and press the burning thing against the bare skin of my right forearm. Clenching my teeth tight, I refused to scream or show that it hurt I wasn't going to give him any chance to feel satisfied.

"When I get out of here," I sneered through my teeth, "I'm going to make the beating Dimitri gave you look like a little love tap."

That triggered something in him and he forgot all about the poker. He was quite happy introducing his fists and feet with various parts of my body. I gritted my teeth and focused on just how much pain I wanted to inflict on him. Hopefully, I would find a way out of here soon, because I really wanted to make good on my promise.

**Dimitri's POV**

A couple more days had passed before anything significant happened. That all changed when Christian went to check the mail. I was in the living room when he returned, but wasn't really paying any attention to him as he walked in. I was too busy trying to figure out where Rose could be. I doubted she was outside of Florida. My father was that type of sadistic bastard that would keep her somewhere close enough to be found but far enough that finding her would be wouldn't be easy. I knew the man, sure. That didn't mean that I knew how his mind worked. All I knew was that he hated me and thrived on inflicting pain on anyone he came into contact with.

"Dimitri, you've got some mail," Christian said, bringing me out of thoughts.

I looked up just as he flung two envelopes onto my lap. The first one was from my family. I began to open it until I saw the second envelope. It had no return address, but I could easily recognize the handwriting. Tossing my mother and sisters' half-opened envelope aside, I quickly turned my attention to the other one, my heart threatening to rip through my rib cage. My worst fears were confirmed when I took the contents out, and I immediately saw nothing but red as my temper skyrocketed.

* * *

**For your guys' awesomeness and patience, the next chapter will begin in the POV of someone different just to change things up a bit. I hope you enjoyed this chapter.**


	27. It's Still Ticking

**Yulian's POV**

It was really no secret that the old man was off his rocker, but he was interesting to live with at least. Being a spirit-user, the insanity was a given. So I wasn't surprise when his physical attack on Rose Hathaway turned into a mental attack. She was strong for a woman in her situation and he had yet to fully get into her head as she fought against him. I watched the entire time, smirking. I knew that my father would either lose patience and kill her or she'd lose the battle and he'd burn out her mind. I highly believed it would be the latter.

I actually witnessed it happen a couple times with some of Zarek's guardians and employees. He just continued using his compulsion and illusionism, beating them with it until their minds pretty much shut down. Then they were basically left as puppets. Sometimes it would only be a temporary consequence. Other times, it was simply permanent.

I ignored the two as I imagined Dimitri's reaction to finding the love of his life awake but unresponsive. That mental picture was actually delightful. It was true that there was a time when I had called Dimitri a friend. That ended when my mother died and my father took me in. I slowly began despising him. The reasons just kept piling up until the point that I was at now. I learned exactly where to hit to cause the most damage. I could have targeted his mother and sisters, but going after Rosemarie was a lot more fun and challenging.

When Rose's screams of fury and pain suddenly stopped, I tuned back in. Soon as my eyes focused on her, my grin widened. She was lying on the floor, eye's closing as though she was falling asleep. It was the first time the bitch was actually ever truly silent. I looked to my father just in time to see him stumble back in exhaustion. He had been at the mental attack for nearly three days with very little break time. Sighing, I walked over to him so he could use me for support as he gathered enough will to make it to the house and up to his room.

"So what did you put into her head?" I asked when he finally was able to stand on his own.

"Darkness so thick the little Rose withers until she's nothing," he mumbled. "Alone but for gnawing, stabbing hunger. More darkness, more pain until the little Rose's thorns sharpen and harden, stabbing the one who helps her."

He didn't make much sense to me but then in this state, he usually didn't make sense to anyone. I figured that she was probably in hell though. I briefly wondered how long she'd be vegetable, and then I wondered how long it would take for Dimitri to find us. Hopefully she'd still be out of it when he did show up. I called in another guardian to take Zarek to bed and then I turned my attention back to Rose. I unchained her, threw her over myself and carried her off. Dimitri would find us eventually and had a better place to hold her. It wouldn't be any fun if it was easy to find her.

**Dimitri's POV**

It took a very long time for me to reign in my temper enough to not go after Adrian. I had to remind myself that it wasn't his fault that we couldn't find Rose. When I finally managed to collect myself, I showed everyone the photos that the bastards sent me. They were all of Rose. Some were just of her glaring lethal daggers as whoever was taking the pictures. Those weren't so bad. They had almost made me smile. It the other ones that I hated. It was like the before and after photos — a session in hell being the between. In those pictures, she was covered in bruises, welts and even burns. Her clothes were rags and ribbons, covered in her blood.

At that pointed, I finally relented and let Lissa call Janine. She was not happy that I had made them wait this long to call her, but she understood why had done it. She made Lissa promise to call her the second we had anything else on Rose's whereabouts. She would stay with her Moroi until we figured out where Rose was possibly being kept. Then, she would help find her.

It was a few days later when we finally got our first break. Adrian finally managed to get into her head just long enough to get a general area. I called Janine with the information and she took a red-eye immediately. I picked her up several hours later and we got to work narrowing Adrian's radius down. The radius was wide and nearly barren. I was beginning to give up when Tasha and Lissa pointed out a gated house. I decided looking at it wouldn't hurt. So making sure the car was out of sight and the Moroi stayed back with Angelia, Janine and I went up to the house, stopping at the closed gate. She pressed the button for the intercom as I stayed out of sight of anyone who might see, but so that i could see. I could hear it when someone from inside the house answered the intercom, but I couldn't make out what he said.

"I'm sorry," Janine said in amusingly distressed tone. "My husband and I are terribly lost do you think can tell me how to get back onto the highway from here."

There was some more noise from the intercom. Then Janine thanked whoever was on the other end and turned and walked back to the car. I stayed where I was, watching through the bars. A few minutes later, two guardians came out to the gate and scanned the area. I waited until they disappeared before I went back to the car.

"Well?" Lissa asked, frowning a little. "Is this the place?"

"There are definitely Moroi, living here," he said. "I saw two guardians come to the gate after Janine left."

"The man who answered the intercom didn't give a name upon answering," Janine said, sounding a little disappointed.

"We should come back during the daylight hours," I suggested, looking up at the sky. "Bring Angelia and everyone back home, get a little rest and come back in a few hours."

Janine and I both agreed that it would be better for just the two of us to come back and that was what he planned on doing until Adrian brought something to our attention. There was a Moroi that wielded spirit that was keeping Rose. As things looked right now, I suspected the spirit-user was my useless excuse for a father. That was irrelevant at the moment. The issue at the moment was that we'd be sitting ducks against a spirit user that knew how to use the abilities that the element gave them.

Eventually, Adrian, Lissa, and Christian somehow was put into the plan. I refused to let Tasha come. She was still my charge, and I couldn't keep her safe if all I was focused on was finding Rose and throttling Yulian and my father. I wouldn't allow her getting hurt because I was more worried about Rose. Surprisingly enough, Tasha didn't argue for long. Not questioning it, I just went to bed. I definitely needed some sleep.

"Dimitri, wake up!"

My eyes shot open and I immediately sat up. Janine was in my doorway, looking as though she hit the million-dollar jackpot. Instantly alert, I got to my feet. Quickly pulling on my jeans and a t-shirt, I walked over to her and silently waited for whatever news she was bursting to tell me.

"I made a few calls and that house happens to be one of your father's estates," she said. "It's looking more and more like we found where the asshole's keeping Rose."

I smiled a little at that, happy at the thought that we may have found her. I was also worried about the state in which we would find her. She looked horrible in those photos. Would that be how I found her or worse? Would she even be alive? That concerned thought wiped that small smile away immediately. Brushing my fear to the back burner, I followed Janine to the living while she started to talk about a strategy that included three Moroi.

Two hours later, we were back at the house. Christian was shooting fireballs outside the front gate, staying out of sight of any possible guardians as he set random spots on fire. The diversion made it easy for Janine and I to take Lissa all the way around the back. Adrian was staying back to help Christian with the diversion. It was daylight, but Janine had found out that my father had about four registered guardians and then six unregistered. That was the minimum. At least half of them guarded during this time.

Lissa was there to conceal us while we climbed over the wall just as Adrian was doing to Christian. I went over the wall first. Janine helped Lissa over the wall and I made sure she wasn't hurt when she landed. Then Lissa and I found the closest place to hide while we waited for Janine to come with the boys. A few minutes later, we split up in a rearranged grouping. I had Lissa and Christian, and Janine stayed with Adrian. That way each Moroi had a guardian and spirit-using. Since Lissa was better at the illusions, Janine and I figured she'd be able to handle covering two people better than Adrian. Granted the it wasn't an even split, but it was the best we could do.

Lissa, Christian, and I didn't run into any trouble, but the perimeter was huge and there was a lot of sheds and little single-roomed buildings. Most of them were for storage. A few of them were empty. And one of them were locked. Picking the lock was child's play, but I found that to was empty. Unlike the other empty buildings, this one had chains on the walls. There were bloodstains everywhere, especially by the chains. I could immediately feel my temper flaring and it took all my willpower to brush it aside. It was clear that a lot of the stains were more fresh than the others.

"Dimitri," Janine's voice caught my attention, making my head whirl to her. "Adrian thinks he's found her."

I didn't like her tone in the slightest, but I didn't need anything else to get moving. I followed her and Adrian, not saying a word and vaguely aware of Lissa and Christian not far behind me. I frowned as Janine and Adrian led us to something like a huge, steal pipe sticking out of the ground. It was about the size of a small, round house. When we stopped, I noticed that it had a door with a padlock. I looked at Adrian, my frown deepening.

"Are you sure she's in there?" I asked.

"Someone's definitely down there but the aura's faint," he said.


	28. AN SORRY

**AUTHOR'S NOTE:::: Okay guys I'm really sorry for this. I know my updates have been lacking, but i'm having some serious writer's block. I would really appreciate some input. If you guys have anything you'd like to see in the story, let me know.. I'm getting tired of making you guys wait so long for the next chapter so ideas to stir up my creative juices are very welcome.**


	29. BOOM!

I scowled at the Moroi, but said nothing. I just hoped it really was Rose. If it wasn't, this would be just a waste of time that we really couldn't afford. Still Adrian was trying to help, and this was better than nothing. The question that bugged me the most was what exactly we would find. Sighing, I got the door open and was the first to enter the room. There was nothing in the room. It appeared very much empty to our disappointment. I could faintly here Adrian berating himself about reading some nonexistent aura. I wasn't really listening to it, because I saw something odd on the floor. Without a word, I moved forward and bent down to examine it.

At first, it looked just like the rest of the wooden floor, but something about it bothered me. Frowning, I ran my hand over the floor for a moment before I found what was bothering me. There was a square of the floor that wasn't real wood. At least, not all of it. There was a metal lining that formed a square border, but that wasn't so obvious that would immediately have grabbed my attention when walking into the room. No, what I had noticed was the little circular hole that was only big enough to fit a finger through. That was the detail that had caught my attention, the metal border merely confirmed my suspicions. I poked my finger into the hole and pulled the slab. It opened easily to reveal a set of steep stairs. I glanced over my shoulder and met the gaze of Rose's mother.

"I'll go down first," I said, trying my best to keep all emotion from my face and voice. "If I'm not back in about 30 minutes, take the others and leave."

"Not likely, Belikov," Janine said, not bothering to keep her mask on. "If you aren't back I'm going in aft–"

"With all do respect, Janine," I snapped, jumping my own mask as impatience and fury flooded me. "This is _my _mess, my mistake. Rose has already paid for my stupidity. There is no way in Hell that I'm going to let anyone else share the same fate or worse."

"You're right about one thing," she said after a long silence. "You are stupid, but if don't come back up I will be back with back-up."

I snorted humorlessly and shook my head before I descended the stairs slowly. The only light came from where I had entered so it was pretty dark most of the way and didn't allow me much time to turn my attention to my surroundings. I had to keep it all on the stairs so I wouldn't fall and break my neck. I would be useless to Rose if I died. When I got to the bottom of the stairs I finally looked around. It smelled of dirt and stone. Once again there was no light in the immediate area but the was enough light for me to see that it gone from a narrow stairway to wide chamber. Upon looking around I found another light source coming from a single tunnel.

I glanced back up to the top of the stairs as I pulled out my stake. Tightening my grip, I made my way down the tunnel, slow and silent. I barely breathed as I headed through the tunnel toward the second source of light. My attention was on every sound, every shadow, ready for anything to happen. The tunnel opened to a chamber that was larger than the first one. Rose was lying in a heap on the floor of a cage like some wild animal. She was naked except for her bra and underwear and I could see all the bruises and cuts on her body. I could also see that my father didn't feed her. She had lost quite a bit of weight.

"Roza," I whispered loudly, forgetting about my surroundings as I hurried over to get her out.

She was so still that I wasn't entirely sure that she was even alive. It intensified the need to get her out of there. I just wanted her safe in my arms. I wanted to know for certain that she was still alive. I didn't even get to the cage door however. Halfway toward it, someone grabbed me and shoved me into the far dirt-and-rock wall. I hit hard and slid to the ground, a little winded. I barely had time to collect myself and get my senses to work right before someone was charging at me. I rolled out of the way and back onto my feet just before he could touch me. This time I was ready for anything, except to see who I was fighting.

I had expected to come face to face with Yulian or another guardian. To see my father was something of a shock. After I kicked his ass when I was thirteen, I didn't think he would be dumb enough to fight me for any reason. There was something different this time. I could feel it more than I could see it. He lunged at me and I dodged to avoid him. I briefly wondered why he wasn't using his abilities. I had never seen him use them before, so I had no idea what he could do. I wasn't complaining about this, but I knew I was in a major disadvantage if he were to suddenly use them. Mentally kicking myself, I turned all my attention to him and struck out with my stake. I wasn't aiming to kill him yet, but that didn't mean I wouldn't if I had to.

To my surprise, he reacted faster than I thought he would. His counter knocked the stake out of my grip. Swearing under my breath in Russian, I punched him hard in the gut. He doubled over with a gasp and I immediately went for my stake. I just gotten hold of it when I found I couldn't breathe. It wasn't like what an air-user would do, prevent the air from going to my lungs. It was more like someone was physically strangling me. I reached up to my throat only to find nothing there that would be constricting my airway. There was nothing there, I realized with mild horror. I gripped my stake harder as I fell to my knees, my throat burning and black spots dancing in my vision. I caught sight of Rose in that cage and then my fathers sadistic joy. That was enough to give me the motivation and energy to lunge forward sloppily and shove the stake into his side before my vision completely blacked out and collapsed to the ground once again, though I was still vaguely conscious. I was first aware of my father screaming in pain. Then, I realized I could breathe again.

I stayed on the ground for a few moments just breathing before I finally got to my feet. I looked at my father as he writhed on the ground just to make sure he was all but immobile at the moment. Satisfied that he wasn't going to be moving any time soon I went back to the cage. I would have liked to put the man out of his misery, but Rose was far more important. Unlocking the cage took a matter of seconds and I was kneeling by her side immediately after that. To my relief, she was alive just unconscious.

"Belikov," Janine's voice rang through the air.

I looked up to see her standing just inside the chamber and Yulian bounding toward her for a silent attack. I opened my mouth to tell her to watch out only to find I didn't need to. She looked around her shoulder just in time to see him and dodge his attack. I left her to it and turned my attention back to Rose, lifting her up in my arms and getting out of the cage. Only then did I look back at Janine. She had Yulian in a choke hold and seemed to be alright. She glanced up at me with a very clear message in her gaze: get Rose out and safely back home. I nodded and hurried for the tunnel, pausing when I suddenly heard Janine grunt and Yulian's cold laugh.

"Give it up, Dimitri," he sneered. "That's no longer your little girlfriend. That's nothing more than a vegetable. She's not in there anymore. Dad made sure of it."

"I'm disappointed in you, Yulian," I retorted glancing at Janine who was recollecting herself. "Despite the length of time you pretended to date and care for her, you certainly didn't take time to get to know her. She's far stronger than you're giving her credit for."

"Spirit is a diabolical element to wield, Belikov," my father said, his tone coated with agony. "You're underestimating _me_. Your girlfriend is gone and she's never coming back." He paused to breath for a few minutes, wincing on each inhale before adding, "You're going to bring her home and watch her waste away, because she'll _never_ wake up."

I had been on a hairline trigger for weeks, and my father's words were the spark that ignited that final raw nerve. Before I even realized what I was doing, I had the man by the neck and I was fuming. The thought of Rose never waking up was not a good thing to implant into my head at the moment, not when I spent the entire time she had been with these assholes fearing that what I found would be nothing more than a bloody and beaten corpse. I didn't hesitate before I slammed him headfirst into the rock wall. He grunted and collapsed in a heap against onto the floor the second I let go of him. I was just about to kick him when I was grabbed from behind. Still fueled by angry adrenaline, I rounded around ready to attack only to have my attack blocked. It was then that I realized Janine was the one who had grabbed me.

"Dimitri!" Janine exclaimed. "Don't be stupid. Rose needs you a lot more than you need to get back at your father. You take that road and you'll lose everything. Believe me, I want the bastard dead just as much you do, but Rose's survival hinges on finding out what he did to her and we can't do that if you kill him."

She was right and I hated it, but instead of arguing with her, I spun out of her grasp and headed for Rose. I didn't look over my shoulder to see what Janine was doing. Frankly at that point, I didn't really give a damn. My father wasn't going anywhere, and Yulian had to have been out cold because he had been amazingly quiet. I shrugged off my duster and draped it over Rose before I ascended the stairs with her safely in my arms and walked outside to be met by Lissa, Christian, Adrian and Janine's apparent back-up. One of the guardians attempted to take Rose from me, but I wouldn't let him. Instead, I just continued my way to the car, satisfied to know that the place had been secured. Lissa, Christian, and Adrian were close on my heels.

"Belikov, Guardian Hathaway wanted me to tell you to take her daughter and the Moroi home while she deals with Yulian and Zarek," a guardian called from behind me.

I nodded but didn't glance back at him as I put Rose into the driver's seat, careful to not allow the duster to slip. This was for more than just to protect her modesty, but to keep Lissa as calm as possible until we got home. I knew Rose would hate to be seen in the state she was in. I also knew that Lissa wouldn't like seeing her friend like that and would try to heal her. Rose wouldn't want her to do that, especially given the fact that Lissa had already used a ton of spirit today anyway.

"Dimitri!" I vaguely heard someone say, snapping me out of my thoughts. I glanced into the rearview mirror to see three very worried faces staring back at me.

"What?" I asked, returning my gaze back to the road.

"She's okay, right?" Lissa asked me, sounding as though she were on the verge of tears.

My eyes shifted toward Rose's unconscious body for a moment as I swallowed. I didn't know how to answer Lissa. I wanted to reassure her that everything was going to work out, even if I wasn't convinced. Rose wouldn't want me to lie to her friends and to be honest I really didn't know.


	30. AN some opinions please

**AUTHOR'S NOTE:::: Yes another one of these damn things. I just wanted to give you all a heads up that I've gotten an idea for a new story and wanted to run something by you all. What would you like to see most? A sequel to WDYTYA or something completely unrelated to this story and set after LS? **

**Also I'm currently working on chapter 29 so it should be up soon. ^_^**

**~~Ash**


	31. Lost

In the end I decided not to answer. I just kept my attention on the road. I could hear Lissa release a shaky sob a moment later and Christian's attempt in assuring her that everything would be alright. Normally, I would be right there with him. Rose wouldn't want Lissa worrying so much about her, and truthfully I didn't like Lissa being so worked up. That didn't change the fact that I would be lying if I said everything was going to be okay. I didn't know that for a fact, and at the moment I didn't believe it.

The rest of the ride was relatively silent. I kept glancing at Rose out of the corner my eye just to make sure she was alright. If it weren't for her extensive injuries, she could've pass as Sleeping Beauty. I could almost believe that she was merely in peaceful sleep and everything that had happened to her had been no more than bad dream. Still, I knew better and the knowledge that she really had suffered for so long at the hands of my father boiled my blood.

As soon as we got back home, I got out of the car and went around to grab Rose. I paid no mind to the fact that all I did was park the car and I left the automobile still running. Christian and Lissa could turn off the ignition and get the keys. It really didn't matter to me. I — on the other hand — carried Rose out of the garage and into the house. I passed Angelia and Tasha on my to the staircase, but I ignored their questions as I headed up the stairs into my room. Once I was inside, I shut my door and locked before lying her down on the bed.

I took the dust off her and threw it onto the armchair and then went to the bathroom across the hall. I grabbed the first-aid kit under the sink and then returned to my room. I got to work cleaning all of her open wounds and bandaging them. When I was finished I threw the comforter over her and then I seated myself on the armchair and watched her rest, hoping and praying she would wake.

**Rose's POV**

I frowned as I looked around me in vain. There was no point, really. Everything was black and empty. I was in a deep black void. There was nothing and no one here. I was alone with no sense of how I got there or how to get home. The blackness was suffocating. The loneliness was agonizing. I don't know how long I stood in that spot. It could've been anywhere for minutes to days before I heard something in the distance that grabbed my attention.

"Hello?" I called out, straining my eyes in the oppressive darkness.

Surely, if someone or something was with me I'd be able to see it move. Right? Wrong. I saw absolute nothing. There wasn't a single moving shadow that would hint at life. There seemed to be no source for the sound either. I was about to give up when I heard the sound again. This time I started walking with my hands out in front of me. I didn't want to run face-first into something. I didn't run into anything, though. However, as I continued to walk, something in the darkness began to stand out. It was a single speck of light.

Now, for once there was a little voice of reason circling my thoughts and telling me to stay put. I didn't listen to it, of course. I headed toward the little white speck. It slowly grew in size as I got closer to it. By the time I reached the source of the light, I realized it wasn't a light at all. It was a full-body antique mirror. My reflection stared back at me. To my surprise, I had smooth and unblemished skin. Now I knew I had been beaten pretty bad so this surprised me a little, however, it wasn't the most shocking. No, what shocked me was what I was wearing. It was a long black cocktail dress with a black lace halter strap. I had on black stiletto ankle boots a gorgeous diamond jewelry. My hair was set on top of my head in an elegant up-do.

I couldn't tear my gaze away. Now, I knew I was pretty, but I looked like so much more than that and I really hadn't expected it. As my reflection rippled and faded, I gasped and stumbled back until a new image appeared. I ceased my retreat and tilted my head a little to the side as it started to clear up and reveal Dimitri. He was standing the smiling at me warmly. He held out his hand, and I watched in awe as it passed through the glass of the mirror. I didn't hesitate to think about what was going on. I merely grabbed his hand and let him pull me through the mirror and into his arms.

"I love you," he whispered, his lips and breath tickling my ear.

I smiled as I buried my face into his chest so happy to be in arms. I didn't like the oppressively black landscape that surrounded me. Being with Dimitri made everything better. I felt safer with him there. His fingers caressed my cheek lightly before he pushed my head up so that I was looking at him. His beautiful face was full of concern.

"Roza, are you okay?" he asked me, a deep frown marring his features. "You're shaking."

"I don't like it here," I said honestly. "It's so dark. I can barely breathe."

"It's okay," he whispered. "It's over now. You're home."

I opened my mouth to argue until the blackness lightened to reveal the ballroom of Lissa's mansion and music began playing in the air. I recognized the song immediately. It was _Strawberry Waltz_ by Meg and Dia. I had heard for the first time back at the Academy one day. It was a good song even if it was slow. I didn't argue or complain especially when Dimitri began to sway back and forth to the beat, leading me into a slow dance. I smiled and rested my head on his chest as we swayed and sang along. We danced to a few more slow songs until the music stopped and Dimitri led me out of the room and up to my bedroom. As soon as my body hit the mattress, everything went black.

I woke up alone with a strange feeling in the pit of my stomach. It wasn't like the sensationi get whenever Strigoi are near, but it still came out the same way. It was definitely a negative feeling. Frowning, I got to my feet and started walking out of the room. Tasha and Angelia were talking in the hallway so I waved at them but they didn't see me. I decided not to bother them and kept on walking. As I turned the corner to the staircase, Christian was making his way up the stairs.

"Hey, Fire Crotch!" I called out. "Where's Lissa? Is she still asleep?"

He didn't answer me and just kept on going. Now I thought that was a little odd, but Christian didn't always make sense to me so I just brushed it off as his normal wasn't until I found Lissa and Dimitri that the weirdness started to get a lot were ignoring me too. It was like they couldn't even here me. I stopped right in front of Lissa and waved my arms in her face. Nothing. She acted as though she couldn't see me. By the time I turned my attention to Dimitri I was almost frantic.

"Dimitri, Dimitri, talk to me," I begged.

"It's so quiet," Lissa said suddenly, sounding so sad.

"I know, Liss," Christian answered in the same tone. "Rose and I would usually be fighting by now."

"Stop," Dimitri said, and his voice cracked a little. "Just because she's gone doesn't mean we should dwell on her absense. She wouldn't want that."

"Absence!" I exclaimed, definitely scared now. "I haven't gone anywhere. I'm right here. Guys, come on. This isn't funny. Stop ignoring me!"

Still, they talked on as if I didn't exist. Sometimes they'd bring me up as if I had taken some type of trip or something. No matter what I did or how loud I screamed, they never even glanced my way. By the time Tasha and Angelia joined them, I was in tears. I was scared and confused, but mostly just pissed off. How the hell could they do this to me? It still seemed like a cruel joke.


	32. Reality Check

**Dimitri's POV**

I stayed by Rose's side as much as possible, especially after the first time I left her. I went to take a quick shower. When I got back to my room, I found Adrian, Christian, and Janine holding her down as she thrashed around wildly. The moment I was at her side she quieted down. So I left as little as I possibly could after that.

A week had passed by since the rescue. Rose was still out, and I barely moved from the armchair that I had moved closer to the bed. The only time I left was to go to the bathroom. I didn't leave her longer than I had to her. Sometimes when I got back she would still be as still and lifeless as I had left her. Other times, she would be thrashing around in some type of fit. On rare occasions, she even did it when I was in the room. It was usually when I started to doze off or was silent for too long. It was like she craved my presence and didn't like it when I left her alone.

We had a doctor come in and examine her to no avail. According to the Moroi, she was physically fine. Rose just didn't seem to be ready to wake up. Lissa and Adrian had tried to heal her, but it only worked on her physical injuries. Whatever the bastard did to her mind just wasn't fixable. Adrian even tried to get into her dreams. Something was blocking him though. We had no choice but to wait and pray that Rose was stronger than whatever my father did to her.

"Come back to me, Roza," I whispered for probably the millionth time. "Lissa needs you. _I _need you. You have to wake up for us."

I absently played with her hair while images of the all the ways my father deserved to die ran through my head. My personal favorite was him being eaten alive by an alligator. It was a shame that I wasn't that cruel, not that I wouldn't kill him given the chance. No one would let me get that close to him. I was pulled out of my thoughts as I heard a knock on the door. I looked up just as the door opened to reveal Lissa. She walked in and handed me the tray of food in her arms. I didn't say anything and just set down on the night stand.

"How is she?" she asked, concern etched on her face and in her tone.

"No change," I said. "I have to go to the bathroom. You mind watching her for me?"

Lissa shook her head and took my seat as I got to me feet. I grabbed some clean clothes before I left the room to go to the bathroom. I did my business before I set up the shower. I did a quick clean-up job and then changed before I returned to my bedroom. As I turned the doorknob to open the door, a scream rang through the air. _Lissa, _I realized as I opened the door. I was vaguely aware of others running towards me, but I payed no mind. They didn't matter as I registered the scene that I had walked in on.

Rose was awake, and she was on the defensive. Lissa took a step toward her, and Rose lashed out. Her right fist made contact with Lissa's face. I heard someone curse behind me followed by someone trying to get pass me. I wouldn't let them. I watched Rose as Lissa tried to get closer to her while blocking the door from the others. Every time Lissa got too close Rose would hit her or try to. Lissa dodged a number of them, but eventually I got my common sense and shifted to guardian mode.

"Everyone out," I ordered. "Go downstairs."

Everyone listened except for Christian, Lissa, and Rose — of course, my order wasn't for her anyway. Lissa protested, and I knew Christian wasn't going to leave unless Lissa did. I didn't have the patience to argue the point with Lissa so I took her by the elbow and led her out into the hall, only to find Adrian standing there. He looked a little pale and was looking pass us to Rose.

"What's wrong?" I asked, not really wanting to know any bad news.

"Her aura's really dark, Dimitri," he said, frowning as his gaze met mine. "So much so that it's hard to see _her_. I think it's the darkness, though I couldn't tell you how she could have gotten so much so fast."

I looked over my shoulder at Rose. She was watching us from the wall. She was in a crouch against the wall, but I couldn't begin to decipher whether it was an offensive or defensive move. It would've helped if she gave away some emotion, but her face was blank. Her eyes were staring off at nothing in particular and she looked like she was talking to herself but I couldn't make out anything she was saying.

"Lissa, let me deal with her," I said, my tone leaving no room for arguments. "Get me some soup, a glass of water and maybe a chocolate doughnut. Also try and find something to help her, maybe a charm or something."

Lissa nodded and left with the boys. I wasn't fooled, though. She only left because of my orders. She wouldn't have left if I hadn't told her to do things for Rose. When they were finally gone I turned my full attention onto Rose. I approached her slowly and her finally focused on me, but I had a feeling it wasn't a good thing. As I got closer I could hear that she really was talking. I still couldn't make sense of what she was saying, but she was definitely speaking. I was too busy trying to make sense of her jumbled up words, and so I didn't see her tense until she lunged at me.

The force knocked me to the ground and she immediately went to wrap her hands around my throat. I didn't let her get that close and she seemed to give up as I flipped her onto her back. That was when she went ballistic. She started to scream much like a banshee as she begun to claw at my throat and face. Still I held onto her as she struggled. To get free or kill me I really didn't know. I managed to keep her pinned but she wouldn't stop struggling. At one point she kneed my in the gut hard.

A little shocked, I tried to keep my hold on her strong but she managed to push me off her. She punched me square in the face and then started running. I jumped to my feet and chased after her. She ran down the stair and straight into Christian. She paused just long enough to slam him head-first into the wall. Then she kept going. I was only halfway down the stairs and she was halfway to the door so I skipped the ten steps in one bounding leap and started running faster as soon as I hit the bottom. I managed to tackle her to the floor just as she reached the front door.

This time I grabbed her wrists firmly and wrapped my arms around her so that it was as if she had been put in a straightjacket so she couldn't hit me again. I rolled us over so we were on our sides and then twisted a leg around both of hers in a way that would keep her from kicking me. The moment she realized she wasn't going anywhere she started screaming and talking more loudly to no one in particular. Swallowing hard, I tightened my hold on her and prayed that she was still in there.

"Dimitri, can we get closer?" Lissa asked after a few moments when Rose's screaming and incoherent babbling lightened.

I hadn't loosened my grip on her even though she wasn't struggling as hard. I didn't answer Lissa for a few minutes as assessed Rose and whether she was still a threat. Unsure, I tightened my hold a little more before I nodded. I watched Lissa as she slowly approached us. Rose's struggles picked up a little but she couldn't get loose. I was holding her too tight. Lissa knelt down beside us and pulled something out of her pocket. It took me a moment to realize what it was.

"Charmed?" I asked staring at the little silver necklace.

She made a little sound of confirmation before she clasped the chain around Rose's neck. At first nothing happened and I briefly worried that the charm didn't work. Then she froze. It was like she had suddenly turned into a statue. Even more worried, I loosened my grip and turned her so that she faced me. Soon as I saw her expression, I regretted turning her over. She looked so scared, trying to hide it the best she could. I saw it easily in her eyes, though. The way she looked at me made me feel worst. It was if I was the one that scared her. She stared at me as if she were just waiting for me to sprout horns and fangs. I slowly reached out my hand to brush her cheek but she flinched away from me as if she thought my touch might sear her skin.

"Sorry," I said, getting to my feet slowly.

**Rose's POV**

I frowned as Dimitri held out his hand like he wanted to help me to my feet. I didn't take the offer and just stood up on my own, quickly putting some distance between us. His concern deepened at my retreat from him. I saw some sadness in the mix too. I looked around the room. It was all the same, then again it was always the same. The only difference was everyone around me. They weren't interacting with me really, but they looked at me like I was there. I wasn't a non-existent person anymore.

I should have been happy or relieved. In the beginning, I knew something had been messing with my head. However, as time passed, I had grown more and more uncertain. Now, I didn't know what was what and I was afraid finding out. No one was moving. No one was talking. I think that was the only reason I wasn't freaking out, because Lissa was the first to move. When she came at me, I instinctively side-stepped her. This made me stumble into Dimitri, who grabbed hold of my waist to steady me. I immediately shied away from him. I caught the pain that flashed in his eyes and hesitated. The only expressions I've seen him show lately were patience and contentment. There was never any pain.

"I'm sorry," I said under my breath.

He reached for me but I shook my head and left the room running into my bedroom, locking my door behind me. I was sure that I was still imagining all of this, especially because Dimitri was here. After all, the last time I saw him, he told me he was leaving to go back to his and Tasha's place. I didn't know how long his father had held me, but I knew that Dimitri was gone. I mean he had been at the airport when I was taken, right? Why would he have come back? It just didn't make sense to me.

Lissa and Dimitri kept knocking on my door, trying to get me to come out. I didn't answer them. What could I say? I'd love to but every time I start socializing, I suddenly don't exist. If this was all in my head, nothing would change. If this was reality, I was an idiot and hurting my friends. It was a lose-lose situation at all fronts, and I really hated losing. So, I stayed in my room for almost two days. It was the night of the second day that something strange happened.

I was lying on my bed and just thinking about everything. Then I was suddenly Lissa's room staring at Christian. Now, my first thought was how that was possibly. It took me a little bit of time to realize that I wasn't actually there. I was in Lissa's head and she was crying, upset and worried about me. Christian was just sitting there, trying to comfort her. I, on the other hand, was confused. This hadn't happened before. The entire time I had gone through my ordeal, not once had the connection between Lissa and I been a part of this. It was that realization that made me actually believe that I might not be imagining this.

I got a good look at Christian then and so that he had a huge bruise on his face. I immediately pulled myself out of her head and got to my feet, pretty sure how he had gotten that. I padded across my room barefoot and clad in baby blue booty shorts and a holey, oversized white t-shirt. I walked out into the hall and down toward Lissa's room. Something stopped me in my tracks though. The light was on in Dimitri's room, the door half opened. Against my will, I detoured to the door and peaked in. He was sitting on the bed reading one of his books. Well, he was staring at the book but I had a feeling he wasn't really seeing the words. He looked deep in thought and completely miserable. Involuntarily, I took a step into the room. His head shot to the door and a frown marred his face as soon as he saw it was me.

"Rose, do you need something?" he asked quietly, looking at me as if he were afraid I would bolt or something.

"I couldn't sleep," I said. "I was going to go to Lissa's room but I saw you were up."

He didn't say anything. He didn't move. I really couldn't blame him because I hadn't really been very welcoming. His eyes stuck on me like glue though and that made me a little uncomfortable. We stood like that for a while. The silence was awkward and thick as night. I turned to leave but my legs wouldn't work and suddenly, I didn't want to leave. I moved toward him slowly, aware that his eyes never left me. When I was standing in front of him, I reached up and touched his cheek. He sat, still as a statue, and just looked at me.

"You haven't shaved," I said stupidly. "You're all prickly."

There was dead silence for a moment before Dimitri burst into a fit of laughter and pulled me onto his lap. I couldn't help but smile. He felt real enough, perhaps I was over thinking. Maybe my nightmare was finally over. I rested my head against his chest. We stayed like that for some time. When he finally moved, it was to set his book on his night stand and lay us down on the bed. I fell asleep to the lazy rhythm of him playing with my hair and the smooth silkiness of his voice as he whispered Russian words in my ear.


	33. an

Okay guys I'm so sorry that I haven't updated in forever. I'm just hitting my head against the proverbial Writer's Block on this story. I can't decide if I should just end it here or give it a couple more chapters, but I have gotten an idea for a new story so I'm going to grace you guys with something soon while I figure out where this WDYTYA stands. Again I'm so sorry for leaving you all hanging for so long.


	34. another note

Okay so the new story is up. It's called _On the Edge_. I'm writing it a bit differently than I WDYTYA, thinking of starting each chapter with quote or a bit of a poem or lyric. If you have read The Mortal Instruments or Clockwork Angel that's what gave me the idea for the intros to each chapter. So let me know what you think of it. And if you prefer no little poem or quote to it.

Also. I decided there will be two more chapters to WDYTYA. The final chapter and an epilogue so expect two more updates soon.


	35. Count the 'I Love You's'

Things were going good, I suppose, but I still had difficulty with everything. Reality was still not on my side. The nightmares I got were horrible, and unless Dimitri was in the bed with me when I woke up after them or in the mornings, I would fear that I was back in the hallucinations. When Dimitri found me later, he would feel horrible and wouldn't leave my side for the rest of the day. At least until I blew up on him. It had been almost a month later and I had become fed-up with the dreams and everyone around. I told Dimitri to stay away from me, and I moved back into my room.

That had been a week ago, and he has continued to keep his distance from me. I could feel his eyes on me whenever we were in the same room though, and I knew he hated this. I knew I was upsetting him, but I couldn't help it. I just couldn't handle the nightmares and the fear. I also knew that the nightmares and my doubts of reality hurt him. Whenever I questioned him on if he was going to disappear on me or something he'd get all sad and promise he was there to stay. It hurt him most when I told him I believed him. It was always a lie in an attempt to make him feel better, and he knew it.

I was alone in the kitchen hating myself for doing this to him when the phone rang. I picked it up and answered, frowning when the voice on the other end asked to speak to Dimitri. Sighing, I went to find him and found him in the living room. He looked like he was reading one of his Westerns, but as I looked more closely his eyes didn't seem to be moving down the page.

"Dimitri, you have a phone call," I said softly, highly aware that this is the first time I spoke directly to him in the last week.

He looked up at me, eyes wide with surprise, and got to his feet to take the cordless from me. My eyes dropped to the floor as he reached me. I couldn't meet his gaze. I couldn't stand the thought of the expression he was wearing, much less actually seeing how much I was hurting him. He took the phone from my hand and lightly brushed my cheek with the back of his fingers. I didn't have any time to actually react before he pulled back and turned his attention to the person on the phone.

"Belikov," he murmured.

I sighed unhappily and made my way up to my room. I turned my stereo on and sat on my bed. A few songs played with me barely noticing them. The one that finally caught my attention was _Arms _by Christina Perri. That was only because I knew exactly what she was talking about because it was exactly how I was feeling. I sighed for felt like the millionth time and shut the stereo off by the time the bridge finished. I closed my eyes for moment before I moved off my bed and went to my bathroom. It was only then that I realized I was crying. Hating the girl staring back at me, I threw my fist into the mirror and watched as shards of reflective glass fell to the sink and floor.

Mesmerized by it all I picked up the biggest piece in the sink. I stood there looking at it when a loud knock resounded from my bedroom door. Startled from the sharp sound, I closed my hand around the piece of mirror in my hand. Cursing in pain, I grabbed a heap of toilet paper and tried to stop the bleeding where I cut myself just as my bedroom door creaked open. A moment later, Dimitri was in the doorway of my bathroom staring at the scene before him with so much concern that I wanted to cry again. It only took a heartbeat of time for him to go into protector mode.

"Jesus, Rose," he murmured as he moved me aside before going into the cabinet under my sink for the first aid kit. "What happened?"

"I punched the mirror," I said as if that was the most normal thing in the world.

I watched him shake his head as he removed the bloody toilet paper and tossed it in the trash. My eyes were glued to his face as he took my hand held it over the sink. I winced slightly at the stinging sensation that came from the peroxide as he poured it over my cut. He didn't look happy at all about any of this, and that all just made me feel horrible. My eyes drifted away from his face to our hands as he finished cleaning mine up. I watched him put the neosporin on the gash before wrapping my hand with gauze. In that moment, my mind went back to the last time he had fixed me up in here.

"Do you hate me?" I asked as he started putting everything away and cleaning up my mess.

"Where would you get that idea?" he scowled, his accent thick with irritated confusion.

I just shook my head and squeezed past him and out of the bathroom. I was probably crazy but I couldn't help it. I was halfway out of my room when he grabbed my arm and spun me to face him. The irritation had seeped into pure confusion as he met my gaze for the first time in the last week.

"Roza," he said softly. " What would give you that idea?"

"It's your expression," I said. "Well, the angry one that slips sometimes."

"I'm not mad at you," he said, pulling me into his arms and hugging tightly. "I could never hate you. My father, however, is a different story. I want to ring his sorry neck for what he did to you. I _hate _seeing you like this. Why did you punch your mirror?"

"Because I keep screwing up. I wouldn't have been in any of this mess if I had forgiven you a long time ago. Instead, all I've done was push you away."

"First off, I pushed you away a lot more times than you did me," he said, grabbing my face between his hands and forced me from looking away like I tried to. "Second off, my father messed with your mind using me and your friends. I don't blame you for questioning what's real. It hurts, yes, but that hasn't stopped me from loving you. I don't care how long it takes for you to recover, I will be here whenever you need me."

At those words, the tears poured out of my eyes as I sobbed into his chest. I didn't cry in front of people often. The only ones who have ever witnessed it were Dimitri and Lissa. He let me cry, lifting me up bridal style after a few minutes and carrying me to my bed. He laid me down then got in next me and wrapped his arms around me in a tight embrace. I burried my face in his chest and realized just how much I missed being there. I fell asleep to him whispering sweetly to me in Russian, feeling at home and safe despite those annoying worries and fears in the back of my head.

After that, things slowly got back to normal and a couple days later, I was smiling as I helped Lissa slip into her wedding gown as she all but had a panic attack. I shook my head and sat her down in the so I could do her hair while Tasha worked on her make-up When we done with her and she had stopped freaking out, we got ready ourselves.

An hour later I was standing beside her at the alter as she and Christian exchanged their vows. It was all I could do not to jump up and down with joy. I was ecstatic for them. I really, truly was, and to be honest, it was about time.

The reception was even more spectacular than the wedding. The banquet was huge and packed with all of our friends, my parents, and even people I didn't really know that well. I congradulated the happy newlyweds and then stepped off to the side to let them have their time to mingle. When dinner rolled around, I stood up an made a little speech about the two. Well, perhaps little is an understatement. It went something like this.

"I've known Lissa since kindergarden," I started. "We became friends after I threw a fit at our teacher and now we're practically sisters. As for Christian. . . He's the thorn in my side, though I'm told that's the typical trait of a brother. I wouldn't know, and I doubt he does either. We're both only children in our families and tend to want to strangle each other every hour so.

I have to admit, I hated it when they started going out. I mean, a guy who could give me a run for my money in attitude, temper, and sarcasm, has to be no good. Well, I still believe that, but Lissa won't listen to me. Regardless of these concerns, I must give him some credit. He loves more than life itself and isn't too horrible to live with. As it is, I'm happy for them but if I disappear tomorrow, Liss, ask your husband where he put my ashes. He's eyeing me like I'm barbecue. And speaking of food, love the cooking, Sparky."

That was followed by a few disaproving hisses of my name and even more laughter. After that we ate in silence and then I watched Lissa and Christian start the first dance. Dimitri came over to me then and as people began to dance with them, he wrapped his arms around my waist and rested his chin on the top of my head.

"You know Christian will get you back for that speech eventually," he said.

"He can try," I said, "but he knows he loves it when I harrass him."

* * *

**I hope you enjoyed this. The epilogue will be coming soon. I must give my Kudos to Christina Perri once more for the inspiration to finally finish this story. One more update to go and I hope you guys will enjoy it.**


End file.
